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HISTORY  OF 


NORTH  ADAMS,  MASS 


1749==1885. 


Eeminiscences   of   Early    Settlers. — Extracts    from    Old 

Town  Records. — Its  Public  Institutioi^s,  Industries 

AND  Prominent  Citizens,  together  with  a 

Roster  of  Commissioned  Officers  in 

THE  War  of  the  Rebellion. 


By  W.  K.  Spkar. 


North  Adams,  Mass.: 
HoosAO  Valley  News  Printing  House. 

1885. 


r  /x 


CONTENTS. 


4 

CHAPTER  I. 


East  Hoosac— First  Explored  and  Surveyed,  1.  Incorporation  of  Adams,  1. 
First  Town  Tax,  2.  Early  Town  Meetings,  2-3.  Resolves  of  Early 
Town  Meetings,  3^-5.  Credit  to  South  Village,  5.  Names  of  a  few 
Early  Settlers,  5-6. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Fort  Massachusetts.— Built,  7.  Location,  7.  The  Attack  and  Capitula- 
tion of  August  20,  1746,  8.  Rebuilt  During  Last  French  and  Indian 
War,  9.  The  Site  of  the  Fort,  10.  The  Burial  Gipund,  10.  Headstones 
Found,  11.    A  Quaint  Petition,  12. 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  North  Village.— Village  Proper,  13.    First  Saw  and  Grist  Mill,  13. 
Barnes'  Mills,  14.    Israel  Jones,  14.    Village  Site,  15.    Ohver  Parker' 
Mills,  16.    Amos  Bronson,  17.    David  Estes.  17.    Jeremiah  Colgrove's 
Oil  MiU,   18.     DwelUngs  and  Settlers  in  1785  and  1795,  19.     Josiah 
Holbrook,20.    OHver  Parker,  Sr.,  21.    Lack  of  a  Circulating  Medium,  22. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Stores,  Trading  and  Barter. — First  Traders,  24.  First  Store,  24.  First 
for  the  Sale  of  Groceries,  25.  System  of  Bartering,  27.  Prices  Paid  for 
Cahcos,  Groceries  and  Grain  in  1803,  27-28.  George  Whitman  as  a 
Trading  Man,  28.    Wool  Carding,  Cloth  FulUng  and  Dressmg,  29. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Early  Industries. — Blacksmith  Shops,  30.  Carpenter  and  Cooper  Shops, 
31.  Brick  Yards,  32.  Saddle  and  Harness  Makers,  32.  Wagon  and 
Sleigh  Makers,  33.  Cabinet  Shops,  33.  Water  Works,  Pumps  and  Lead 
Pipes,  34.  Stone  Cutting  and  Marble  Works,  34.  Hat  Manufacturers 
and  Hat  Stores,  34.  Tailor  Shops,  35.  Forge  for  Making  Wrought 
Iron,  35.    First  Cupola  Furnace  and  Machine  Shops,  36-39. 

CHAPTER  VL 

Roads  and  Streets.— Old  Road  Over  Mountain,  40.  Highway  Taxes,  41. 
Road  Surveys,  41.  Wages  Paid  for  Labor  on  Roads,  43.  Laying  Out  of 
Streets,  41-43.    Early  Stage  Lines,  43. 


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CHAPTEB  VII. 

ScHOOLHOusEs  AND  Churches. — First  Schoolhouse,  4A.  Money  Baised  for 
Schools,  44.  School  Districts,  45.  School  Property,  45.  School  Books, 
45-46.  Teachers'  Wages,  46.  Schedule  of  Property  for  Assessment,  47. 
Dmry  Academy,  47-49.  Veazie  Street  and  Union  Street  Schools,  49. 
The  First  Churches,  49-51.  History  of  Baptist  Church,  51-53.  Univer- 
saUst  Church,  53.  Methodist  Church,  53-55.  Congregational  Church, 
55-56.  Episcopal  Church,  56.  Blackinton  Church,  56.  Boman  Catholic 
Church,  56.    French  Catholic  Church,  57. 

CHAPTEB  YlII. 

Public  Houses. — Old  Black  Tavern,  58.  Berkshire  House,  59.  North 
Adams  House,  60.    Wilson  House,  60.    Ballou  House,  61. 

CHAPTEB  IX. 

PROFESsiONAii. — Lawyers,  Date  of  their  Settlement,  62.  Acting  Justices  of 
the  Peace,  63.  Practicing  Physicians,  64.  Bepresentatives  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court,  64-68.    Postoffice  and  Postmasters,  68-70.    Telegraphy,  70. 

CHAPTEB  X. 

Manufacturing.— Arnold  Print  Works,  71.  Old  Brick  Factory,  71.  Eagle 
Factory,  72.  S.  Blackinton  Woolen  Company,  73.  The  Beaver,  74. 
Estes  Factory,  75.  Turning  Shops,  76.  The  Union,  76.  Union  Woolen 
Factory,  77.  Johnson  Manufacturing  Company,  77.  Gould  Mill,  78. 
Stone  Mill,  79.  Brooklyn,  79.  North  Adams  Manufacturing  Company, 
80.  Freeman  Print  Works,  80.  Greylock  Mill,  82.  Wholesale  Boot 
and  Shoe  Manufacturers — Edwin  Childs  and  David  C.  Bogers,  82.  H. 
T.  Cady's,  83.  W.  G.  Cady  &  Co.,  83.  Whitman,  Canedy  &  Co.,  83. 
Sampson  Manufacturing  Company,  83.  North  Adams  Iron  Company, 
84.    Tanneries,  86. 

CHAPTEB  XI. 

Prominent  Citizens.— Captain  Jeremiah  Colgrove,  88.  Protection  of  a 
Fugitive  Slave,  89.  Giles  Tinker,  90.  Deacon  Artemas  Crittenden,  92. 
Bufus  WelJs,  93.  Harvey  and  OUver  Arnold,  94.  Duty  S.  Tyler,  96. 
William  WaUace  Freeman,  96.  Caleb  B.  Turner,  97.  William  E.  Bray- 
ton,  97.  Sylander  Johnson,  98.  Amasa  W.  Bichardson,  99.  Elisha 
Kingsley,  99.  Orson  Wells,  100.  Benjamin  Chase,  100.  Ezra  D.  Whit- 
aker,  100.  Josiah  Quincy  Bobinson,  100.  Dr.  Edward  Norman,  100. 
Dr.  Seth  N.  Briggs,101.    Dr.  N.  S.  Babbitt,  101.    Dr.  E.  S.  Hawkes,  101. 

CHAPTEB  XII. 

MiscELiiANEOUS.— Division  of  the  Town,  103.  Boster  of  Commissioned  OflS- 
cers,  104.  North  Adams  Fire  District,  107.  Boston,  Hoosac  Tunnel  & 
Western  Bailroad,  109.  North  Adams  Gas  Light  Company,  109.  Sketch 
of  Hoosac  Tunnel,  110.  Banks,  111.  Newspapers,  112.  North  Adams 
Hospital,  112.    North  Adams  Library  Association,  114. 


EAST  HOOSAC. 

CHAPTER  T. 

THE  town  of  Adams,  including  what  is  now  Adams  and  Nortb 
Adams,  was  originally  known  as  East  Hoosac. 

This  township  was  first  explored  and  surveyed  in  1749,  by  a 
committee  of  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts.  They  were  in- 
structed to  lay  it  out  six  miles  square.  Not  believing  in  the  doc- 
trine of  instruction,  however,  it  was  laid  out  seven  miles  long,  from 
north  to  south,  and  five  miles  broad,  from  east  to  west.  It  is  the 
only  town  in  Berkshire  County  of  a  perfectly  regular  form. 

In  1750  Captain  Ephraim  Williams  secured  a  grant  of  two  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  the  town,  on  condition  that  he  would  reserve 
ten  acres  for  a  fort,  and  build  and  keep  in  repair  for  twenty  years 
a  grist  and  saw  mill. 

In  June,  1762,  East  Hoosac,  with  nine  other  townships,  was 
sold  at  auction,  for  £3200,  to  Nathan  Jones,  who  soon  after 
received  as  partners  in  this  land  speculation  Colonel  Elisha  Jones 
and  John  Murray. 

In  October,  1762,  forty-eight  building  lots  of  one  hundred  acres 
were  laid  out,  embracing  the  very  heart  of  the  township,  mostly 
interval  land  along  the  Hoosac  river  and  its  south  branch.  In  1776, 
twenty  more  lots  of  similar  size  were  laid  out,  and  Israel  Jones, 
having  then  become  a  resident,  was  authorized  to  admit  sixty  set_ 
tiers,  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  General  Court. 
Two  years  after,  the  remaining  lands  were  apportioned  among  the 
settlers. 

The  town  was  incorporated  October  15,  1778,  with  the  name  of 
Adams,  in  honor  of  Samuel  Adams,  the  illustrious  leader  in  the 
Revolution,  the  signer  of  the  declaration  of  independence,  and 
afterward  Governor  of  Massachusetts.    The  first  annual  town  meet- 


a  HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

ing  was  held  March  8,  1779,  when  Captain  Phillip  Mason  was 
chosen  moderator ;  Isaac  Arnold,  town  clerk ;  Captain  Phillip 
Mason,  Captain  Israel  Jones  and  Captain  Keuben  Hinman,  select- 
men. Captains  were  plenty  in  those  days  of  war  and  commotion, 
and  were  naturally  looked  upon  as  the  leading  men  in  civil  as  well 
as  military  affairs.  Captain  Reuben  Hinman  was  also  chosen  town 
treasurer.  The  meeting  was  adjourned  till  March  22,  when  Luther 
Bich,  David  Jewell  and  Eleazer  Brown  were  chosen  assessors ; 
Elias  Jones,  Gideon  Smith,  Jonathan  Husse,  Stephen  Smith,  Phil- 
lip Mason,  Ruluil  White,  Oliver  Parker,  Johnathan  Hale  and 
Daniel  Sherman,  surveyors  of  highways  ;  Lemuel  Levenworth,  col- 
lector, (he  was  superceded  June  17  by  Justus  Holt)  ;  William  Bar- 
ker, collector  of  taxes  ;  Edmond  Jenks,  Benjamin  Baker,  William 
Smith,  Jedediah  Hurd  and  John  Kilburn,  committee  of  safety. 
Their  business  was  to  watch  and  thwart  the  tories,  Indians,  British 
and  other  enemies  of  American  liberty.  Similar  officers  existed  in 
all  the  towns,  and  kept  the  courage  of  the  people  of  New  England 
from  slumbering. 

The  first  town  tax  on  record  was  £100,  for  making  and  repairing 
the  highways,  to  be  paid  in  labor  at  two  shillings  six  pence  per 
day,  or  Indian  corn  at  two  shillings  six  pence  per  bushel.  The 
building  and  support  of  the  roads  was  then,  as  now,  a  heavy  bur- 
•den.  A  stony  soil,  rapid  running  streams,  enormous  tree  stumps 
and  steep  hillsides  must  have  made  the  travelling  anything  but 
-desirable  in  olden  times.  It  was  voted  to  pay  the  collector  of 
taxes  nine  pence  on  the  pound  for  collecting  of  rates.  This  was 
•equal  to  3  3-4  per  cent.  The  collector  of  the  present  day  gets  11-16 
of  1  per  cent,  for  his  work. 

The  pay  of  town  officers  was  not  so  large  as  to  cause  mucli  wire- 
pulling to  get  offices.  For  the  first  year  the  bills  of  the  selectmen 
were  as  follows  :  Reuben  Hinman,  one  pound,  thirteen  shillings  ; 
Phillip  Mason,  nine  shillings  ;  Isreal  Jones,  eighteen  shillings,  re- 
ceiving thirty-six  for  one.  Continental  money  having  depreciated 
to  less  than  three  cents  on  the  dollar.  The  assessors  were  each 
allowed  £3  for  their  services,  at  the  ratio  of  forty  for  one.  The 
practice  of  sinking  taxes  began  in  the  very  first  year,  nineteen 
pounds  and  twelve  shillings,  due  from  six  different  unfortunates, 
were  abated  in  the  collectors'  bills. 

The  number  of  voters  at  the  time  of  the  town's  organization  is 
Tiot  ascertainable.  An  estimate,  however,  may  be  formed  from  the 
vote  cast  April  19,  1779,  in  favor  of  forming  a  new  state  constitu- 
tion. It  was  unanimous — 44  present — and  a  delegate  was  empow- 
ered to  represent  the  town  in  a  constitutional  convention. 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  3 

At  a  towJn  imeeiing  held  November  5,  1779,  the  question  of  an- 
nexing a  part  ^of  Adams  to  New  Providence — now  Cheshire — was 
put  and  decided  in  the  negative  ;  yeas  24,  nays  48.  This  would 
show  72  votes  cast.  As  such  a  local  question  must  have  been  some- 
what exciting,  it  may  be  supposed  that  special  efforts  were  made  to 
bring  out  the  voters,  and  that  their  attendance  was  full. 

A  town  meeting  was  held  May  1st,  1780,  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
sidering the  new  constitution  or  frame  of  government.  Two  of  the 
•articles  were  passed  by  00  votes.  One  relative  to  the  judiciary  was 
rejected  unanimously,  and  that  the  judges  mentioned  should  be 
elected  annually.  One  relative  to  the  executive  power  was  voted 
against  unanimously,  with  this  objection:  That  every  person  liable 
"to  do  duty  ought  to  have  a  voice  in  choosing  the  officers  to  com- 
mand him.  Article  2  of  chapter  6  was  passed  with  this  addition. 
That  the  justice  be  debarred  from  holding  a  seat  in  the  General 
•Court.  A  committee,  consisting  of  Nathan  Comstock,  Justus 
Holt  and  John  Eaton,  was  appointed  to  examine  and  make  amend- 
ments. The  watchful,  independent  spirit  of  the  people  of  that 
time  is  seen  in  these  votes  in  favor  of  an  elective  judiciary,  elective 
military  officers,  and  the  separation  of  the  judicial  and  legislative 
•departments  of  the  state. 

During  the  two  or  three  years  after  the  town's  organization, 
iiown  meetings  were  very  frequent.  They  were  held  every  few 
weeks.  In  177-9  there  were  ten.  A  great  deal  of  work  had  to  be 
•done.  The  critical  events  of  the  war  raised  new  questions  continu- 
ally for  the  voters  to  act  upan  ;  and  it  is  no  disparagement  to  the 
early  settlers  to  say  that  they  were  inexperienced  in  the  arts  of 
wire-pulling  and  sly  political  scheming,  and  could  not  ^'fix"  things 
«o  they  would  stay  ''fixed"  for  a  whole  year.  Besides  the  feeling 
of  the  town  was  very  democratic,  and  the  voters  would  not  tolerate 
encroachments  or  meddlesomeness  by  their  officers.  The  votes  in 
regard  to  the  constitution  of  1780  show  a  wholesome  distrust  of 
Tulers. 

The  patriotism  of  the  early  settlers  is  evinced  by  their  liberal 
contribution  toward  carrying  on  the  revolution.  Probably  no  com- 
munity in  the  state  was  more  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  '76, 
or  more  free  in  offering  her  best  blood  and  her  hard-earned  prop- 
erty to  the  cause.  Money  she  had  little  or  none,  as  is  proved  by 
the  taxes  being  paid  m  produce.  Following  are  some  resolves  of 
the  various  town  meetings,  copied  from  the  records  : 

July  5,  1779 — Voted  to  give  the  nine  months  men  ten  dollars  a 
month,  to  be  paid  in  grain  at  the  stipulated  price,  viz  :  Wheat  at 
•T)  shillings,  rye  at  4  sliilliaigs  and  Indian  corn  at  3  shillings  per 


4  HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

bushel,  and  100  Continental  dollars  as  a  bounty  before  the  march. 

July  23,  1779 — Voted  that  the  selectmen  make  provision  for  the 
men  that  are  draughted  to  the  place  of  rendezvous. 

March  20,  1780 — Made  choice  of  David  Smith,  John  Kilburn, 
Ambros  Parker,  committee  of  safety. 

May  25,  1780 — Voted  to  pay  William  Harrendeen  270  Continen- 
tal dollars  to  make  good  the  depreciation  of  money  due  to  him  as 
wages,  for  service  in  the  Continental  army. 

June  20,  1780 — Voted  that  the  town  will  raise  money  by  a  tax  to 
hire  their  quota  of  soldiers  to  serve  in  the  Continental  army  six 
months. 

Voted  to  give  each  man  that  shall  engage  in  the  service  for  six 
months  a  bounty  of  two  pounds  ten  shillings  for  each  month  he 
shall  serve,  to  be  paid  in  produce  at  the  stipulated  price  or  in 
money  equal  thereto. 

July  10,  1780 — Voted  that  Captain  Reuben  Hinman  be  refunded 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars,  which  sum  he  gave  a  six  months 
man,  out  of  the  town  treasury. 

Voted  that  the  three  months  men  now  to  be  raised  have  fifty 
shillings  per  month  in  addition  to  the  state  wages,  to  be  paid  in  the 
same  manner  and  at  the  same  time  the  six  months  men  are  paid. 

December  28,  1780 — Voted  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
report  what  bounty  shall  be  given  to  the  soldiers  now  to  be  raised 
for  three  years. 

Voted  that  Enos  Parker,  Levi  Brown  and  Samuel  Law  be  a  com- 
mittee for  that  purpose. 

Report  of  the  committee — That  each  person  who  shall  engage  in 
the  Continental  army  for  three  years,  or  during  the  present  war, 
shall  be  entitled  to  receive  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds  per  year  for 
every  year  he  shall  serve,  including  the  Continental  pay,  and  each 
soldier  so  engaged  shall  receive  the  sum  of  thirteen  pounds  previous 
to  his  marching  if  he  chooses,  thirteen  pounds  niore  at  the  expira- 
tion of  the  first  year,  and  the  remainder  of  the  money  annually. 

Voted  that  the  town  agree  to  and  will  comply  with  the  above  re- 
port. 

February  12,  1781 — The  question  being  put  whether  the  town 
will  agree  to  class  its  inhabitants  in  order  to  raise  its  quota  of  men 
for  the  Continental  service,  voted  in  the  negative. 

Voted  to  choose  a  committee  to  hire  or  raise  said  men. 
f  Voted  that  Joab  Stafford,  Solomon  Gardner,  Giles  Barnes,  Sam'l. 
Lowe  and  Sam'l  Day  be  a  committee  for  the  above  purpose. 

May  15,  1781 — Voted  to  lay  a  tax  on  the  town  of  three  hundred 
pounds  hard  money  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  stock  of  ammu- 
nition and  defraying  town  charges.  Continental  currency  to  be  re- 
ceived at  the  common  exchange. 

July  19,  1781 — Voted  that  each  soldier  engaging  to  serve  in  the 
Continental  army  three  months  shall  receive  from  the  town  of 
Adams  the  sum  of  four  pounds  for  each  month  he  shall  serve,  to  be 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  5 

paid  in  silver  or  in  grain ;  wheat  at  six  shillings,  rye  at  four  shil- 
lings and  Indian  corn  at  three  shillings  per  bushel ;  the  soldier  so 
engaging  to  sign  an  order  for  the  selectmen  of  Adams  to  draw  his 
state  wages ;  that  three  pounds  of  the  four  be  paid  such  soldier 
previous  to  his  marching,  if  required,  and  the  remainder  by  the 
first  day  of  January,  178^. 

Voted  to  assess  a  tax  on  the  inhabitants  of  Adams  for  the  sum  of 
two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  state  money,  to  pur- 
chase 24,000  weight  of  beef  and  a  quantity  of  clothing. 

August  17,  1781 — The  question  being  put  whether  the  town  will 
make  good  the  wages  of  the  six  and  three  months  men,  carried  in 
the  negative. 

February  21,  1782 — The  question  being  put  whether  the  town 
will  do  anything  toward  procuring  a  man  to  serve  three  years  in 
the  Continental  army  for  Captain  Isaac  Hathaway's  class,  voted  in 
the  negative. 

It  is  here  very  proper  to  give  South  Adams  her  full  credit  as  the 
principal  settlement  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  The  "  South 
End,"  so  called  in  the  records  as  early  as  July,  1780,  had  probably 
ten  times  as  many  inhabitants  seventy-five  years  ago  as  the  ''North 
End,'^  and  the  latter  could  never  have  caught  up  and  gone  ahead 
but  for  her  more  extensive  water  power  on  two  streams.  The  land 
is  much  better  for  farming  in  the  vicinity  of  South  Adams,  and 
her  sturdy  yeomanry  were  for  many  years  the  backbone  of  the  set- 
tlement. Therefore,  the  patriotism  and  self-sacrifice  of  Eevolu- 
tionary  times  were  chiefly  displayed  by  our  southern  friends,  and 
are  not  cited  here  as  proofs  of  the  early  glory  of  this  part  of  the 
town.  It  had  little  or  no  glory,  because  there  was  scarcely  any- 
body living  here  to  let  their  light  of  patriotism  shine.  On  the  site 
of  this  village  there  were  probably  not  five  houses  in  1780. 

Following  is  an  exact  copy  of  an  antique  paper  whereby  a  soldier 
of  this  town  bound  himself  to  serve  in  the  Revolutionary  army 
three  years  : 

I  Benjmin  Hazzard  of  the  Common  Welth  of  massachustts 
County  of  Berkshire  and  Town  of  Adams  have  Inlisted  my  Self  as 
A  Soldier  in  the  Sarvice  of  the  Uuited  Statts  of  America  For  the 
Time  of  Three  years  and  Promis  to  Obey  and  Subject  my  Self  to 
all  the  Laws  and  Regulations  of  the  Army  and  my  Superior  Officer 
in  Witness  whare  of  I  have  Set  my  hand  this  Twenty  Third  Day 
of  march  1781  and  For  Class  No  2  of  Whome  Mr.  Darius  Bucklin 

^^  ^^^^^'  Benjmin  x'  Hazzard. 

Marke. 

Among  the  first  settlers  of  the  township  of  Adams  were  Abiel 
Smith  and  his  sons  Gideon  and  Jacob,  John  Kilborn  and  John  Mc- 
Neal  of  Litchfield,  Conn. ;  Reuben  Hinman  and  Jonathan  Smith 


6  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

of  Woodbury,  aud  Messrs.  Parker,  Cook  and  Lea^^enworth  of  Wal~ 
lingford.  These  settlers,  and  others  who  settled  with  them,  did 
not  remain  a  long  time.  Most  of  them  sold  their  land  to  pur- 
chasers from  Rhode  Island,  many  of  them  Quakers.  Others  not 
belonging  to  that  order  soon  followed  from  the  same  state,  until 
Rhode  Islanders  occupied  nearly  the  whola  town,  and  Adams  still 
contains  many  of  their  descendants.. 


FORT  MASSACHUSETTS. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  site  of  this  memorable  fortress  is  so  near  our  village,  and 
literally  at  the  extreme  north  end  of  the  town  of  Adams,  that  a 
brief  recapitulation  of  its  history  will  be  most  appropriate. 

About  1741  Fort  Massachusetts  was  built  in  a  narrrow  part  of 
the  valley  leading  toward  Williamstown.  It  was  a  part  of  the  line 
of  defense  erected  to  protect  the  northern  and  western  settlements 
of  New  England  against  French  and  Indian  hostilities.  The  enemy 
directed  their  principal  movements  toward  Connecticut  river,  but 
some  came  down  the  Hudson,  and,  proceeding  eastward  up  the 
Hoosac,  assailed  this  fortification  in  smaller  or  larger  parties,  and 
several  bloody  skirmishes  took  place. 

The  fort  was  located  in  a  then  very  exposed  position,  pushed  far 
out  into  the  wilderness,  twenty  or  thirty  miles  from  any  abode  ot 
civilized  man.  Williams  and  his  hardy  companions  erected  their 
fort  of  logs,  surrounded  with  pickets  of  squared  timbers  driven  into 
the  ground  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  fence,  mounted  with  a  few 
iron  guns  on  swivels,  and  defensible  against  musketry  alone.  The 
garrison  at  this  time  numbered  about  fifty  men.  After  being  re- 
built, in  1747,  the  fort  was  garrisoned  by  one  hundred  men. 
Feebly  can  the  present  generation  conceive  of  the  hardshsps 
endured  by  these  brave  men  nearly  a  century  anu  a  half  ago. 
Besides  the  regular  garrison  duty,  small  scouting  parties  were 
continually  ranging  the  woods  from  one  fort  on  the  line  of  defense 
to  another,  penetrating  far  into  the  northern  wilderness,  to  dis- 
cover the  Indian  trail,  intercept  and  defeat  their  war  parties. 
Armed  with  his  gun,  hatchet  and  scalping-knife,  with  provisions 
and  blanket  on  his  back,  the  hardy  soldier  scoured  the  woods  in 
quest  of  the  savage,  to  meet  him  with  his  own  weapons  and  on  his 


8  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

own  ground.  Every  tangled  thicket  was  the  place  of  ambush,  and 
the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  ever  gleamed  before  his  eyes. 
The  garrison  of  Fort  Massachusetts  had  its  full  share  of  this 
adventurous  service. 

June  11th,  1745,  the  enemy  appeared,  attacking  a  number  of 
men  who  were  at  a  distance  from  the  fort,  wounded  two,  Elisha 
Nims  and  Gershom  Hawks,  and  took  Benj.  Tenter  captive.  One 
of  the  enemy  was  killed,  and  the  others  fled  after  a  short  skirmish- 
May  Gth,  1746,  as  Sargeant  John  Hawks  and  John  Miles  were 
riding  out  from  the  fort  they  were  fired  upon  and  wounded  by  tlie 
Indians.  Miles  escaped  to  the  fort.  Hawks,  having  the  spirit  of 
an  eagle,  fought  for  some  time,  and  might  have  made  both  the 
Indians  prisoners  had  he  understood  their  language,  for  they  asked 
for  quarter  before  he  took  leave  of  them. 

August  20th,  1746,  an  army  of  about  000  French  and  Indians, 
under  General  De  Vaudreuil,  made  an  attack  upon  the  fort. 
Colonel  Hawks,  who  was  in  command  at  that  time,  had  only 
twenty-two  effective  men,  and  thirty-three  persons,  including  men, 
women  and  children.  He  was  also  short  of  ammunition.  Yet, 
under  such  discouraging  circumstances,  this  Massachusetts  colonel 
defended  the  fort  twenty-eight  hours  against  the  Canadian  general 
with  more  than  forty  times  his  number  of  men,  and  would  proba- 
bly never  have  surrendered  had  liis  powder  and  balls  held  out.  He 
finally  capitulated,  upon  terms  which  were  violated  by  the  French 
commander.  It  was  agreed  that  none  of  the  prisoners  should  be 
delivered  to  the  Indians ;  but  De  Vaudreuil  gave  up  half  his  cap- 
tives to  the  savages,  on  the  plea  that  he  could  not  otherwise  pacify 
them.  The  Indians  immediately  killed  one  of  the  prisoners,  who 
was  sick  and  unable  to  travel.  In  the  seige  Colonel  Hawks  lost 
but  one  man,  while  the  enemy,  as  near  as  could  be  ascertained,  lost 
forty-five,  killed  or  mortally  wounded.  The  fort  was  demolished 
by  De  Vaudreuil.  The  prisoners  were  marched  to  Canada,  where 
twelve  of  them  sickened  and  died.  The  residue,  with  other  pris- 
oners, were  sent  in  a  vessel  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  Boston,  where 
they  arrived  August  16,  1747.  Rev.  John  Norton,  chaplain  of  the 
fort  at  the  time  it  was  taken,  wrote  an  account  of  his  captivity, 
which  was  published.  Another  of  the  prisoners  was  Benjamin 
Simons,  who  afterward  became  a  distinguished  inhabitant  of  Wil- 
liamstown  and  a  colonel  of  militia. 

May  25,  1747,  while  the  fort  was  being  rebuilt  by  the  government 
of  Massachusetts,  who  sent  a  large  force  thither,  an  army  of  the 
enemy  came  to  hinder  the  undertaking  ;  but  they  fled  on  a  sally 
from  the  fort  and  being  also  frightened  by  the  return  of  about  100 


HISTORY   OF   TS^ORTH    ADAMS.  9 

men  from  Albany  with  military  stores  and  provisions.  There  were 
charges  of  cowardice  in  connection  with  this  affair,  and  ^'bush 
fighting"  has  a  tendency  to  beget  extreme  caution,  if  not  timidity, 
in  many  men.  In  this  skirmish  three  persons  were  wounded,  and 
a  friendly  Indian  from  Stockbridge  was  killed. 

October  1st,  1747,  Peter  Burvee  was  taken  prisoner  near  the  fort, 
and  went  into  his  second  captivity  from  the  same  spot,  having 
been  one  of  De  VaudreuiFs  prisoners  two  years  before. 

August  2nd,  1748,  the  fort  was  commanded  by  Captain  Ephriam 
Williams,  the  founder  of  Williams  College,  whose  grant  of  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  East  Hoosac  has  been  already  mentioned. 
Four  men  were  fired  upon  while  outside  the  fort.  Captain  Wil- 
liams sallied  out  with  thirty  men,  and  after  driving  the  enemy 
about  a  furlong  a  party  of  fifty  Indians  in  ambuscade  suddenly 
fired  and  endeavored  to  cut  off  his  retreat.  By  a  quick  movement  he 
regained  the  fort,  having  one  man,  a  Mr.  Abbott,  killed,  and  two, 
Lieutenant  Hawley  and  Ezekiel  Wells,  wounded.  At  once  a  large 
body  of  three  hundred  Indians  and  thirty  French  advanced  and 
opened  their  fire  on  the  fort.  After  sustaining  a  sharp  fire  from 
the  garrison  for  two  hours,  the  enemy  despair<^d  from  effecting 
anything,  and  drew  off  with  their  killed  and  wounded. 

On  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  in  the  fall  of  1748,  the  forces  on 
the  frontier  were  reduced,  and  a  small  garrison  left  at  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts. 

When  the  last  French  and  Indian  war  broke  out,  in  1754,  imme- 
diate measures  of  defense  were  adopted  by  the  General  Court  of 
this  state.  Fort  Massachusetts  was  strengthened  and  the  garrison 
increased,  making  it  the  foster  mother  of  the  infant  settlements  in 
the  town,  now  known  as  North  Adams,  Adams  and  Williamstown. 
Tlie  command  was  continued  to  Ephraim  Williams,  with  a  coloneFs 
commission  in  the  provincial  army  of  3000  men,  which  undertook 
the  expedition  to  Crown  Point. 

At  Fort  Massachusetts  he  met  his  old  companions  in  arms,  and 
gave  them  his  last  words  of  council  and  encouragement.  Tradi- 
tion informs  us  that  at  the  parting  interview  some  slight  expres- 
sions fell  from  his  lips  of  the  purpose  to  leave  to  them,  in  the  event 
of  his  death,  more  substantial  tokens  of  his  regard.  This  generous 
purpose  was  carried  out  by  his  bequest  of  property  to  open  a  free 
school  in  the  west  township — now  Williamstown  ;  a  handfull  of 
good  seed  which  sprung  up  in  the  noble  harvest  of  Williams  Col- 
lege. 

After  the  lamented  death  of  Colonel  Williams,  in  battle  with  the 
French  and  Indians  under  Dieskau,  near  the  southern  extremity 


10  HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

of  Lake  George,  September  8,  1755,  the  oversight  of  Fort  Massa- 
chusetts was  committed,  it  is  believed,  to  Captain  Wyman.  He  is 
known  to  have  lived  in  the  house  within  the  pickets,  and  to  have 
occupied  the  land  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  fort. 

June  7,  1756,  a  body  of  the  enemy  came  again  to  this  fort. 
Benjamin  King  and  a  man  named  Meacham  were  killed. 

The  garrison  was  probably  withdrawn  and  the  fortification  began 
to  decay  immediately  after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  in  1759.  In 
the  time  of  the  revolution  it  was  a  ruin,  many  of  the  solid  old  tim- 
bers having  been  taken  to  erect  less  patriotic  structures. 

Tradition  states  that  three-quarters  of  an  acre  of  land  was  in- 
closed within  the  stockade,  and  that  there  were  five  or  six  block- 
houses, with  families  residing  therein. 

The  site  of  the  fort — as  everybody  knows — is  on  a  slight  rise  of 
land  in  the  beautiful  meadow  now  owned  by  Mrs.  Bradford  Harri- 
son. A  thrifty  elm  tree  marks  the  spot.  It  was  planted  in  the 
spring  of  1858  by  Prof.  A.  L.  Perry  and  some  of  the  students  of 
Williams  college. 

Captain  Clement  Harrison,  who  purchased  in  1830  of  the  ad- 
ministrators of  Isreal  Jones,  Esq.,  the  farm  on  which  his  grandson 
now  resides,  discovered  in  his  work  of  renovating  the  soil  many 
relics  of  the  fort,  and  munitions  of  the  old,  bloody  times  of  deep 
significance.  Hundreds  of  bullets,  coroded  and  turned  white, 
Indian  arrow-heads  curiously  carved  of  flint,  a  metal  tomahawk, 
the  muzzle  of  a  small  cannon,  several  bombshells,  pieces  of  pots  and 
kettles,  broken  bottles  in  which  the  pretended  '^good  liquor'' of  for- 
mer days  was  perhaps  contained,  a  silver  spoon  with  a  very  large  and 
nearly  round  bowl,  strongly-made  but  badly  rusted  jackknives  and 
cartloads  of  brickbats  are  among  these  curious  and  suggestive 
mementoes.  Captain  Harrison  presented  many  of  them  to  chance 
visitors,  and  a  considerable  variety  to  the  cabinet  at  Williams  Col- 
lege, where  they  attract  the  reverent  gaze  of  all  who  have  any  sen- 
timent of  the  hero-worship  in  their  nature. 

Captain  Harrison,  from  the  indications  discovered  in  clearing  up 
that  part  of  his  farm  where  the  fort  stood,  was  of  the  opinion  that 
there  were  six  different  houses,  or  log  cabins,  within  the  inclosure, 
scattered  three  or  four  rods  apart ;  and  that  the  inclosure  may 
have  been  double  the  size  mentioned  above,  or  one  and  a  half  to 
two  acres.  Solid,  large  beams  of  pine  timber  were  found  in  one 
place,  and  masses  of  brick  and  brickbats  where  the  six  chimneys 
had  stood. 

Southwest  of  the  fort  was  the  burial  ground.  Though  the  graves 
were  long  since  leveled,  in  the  summer  of  1852  a  headstone  was 


HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  11 

found  and  carried  to  Williams  College,  by  Captain  Harrison's  per- 
mission. The  stone  is  shaped  like  a  letter  V  with  the  bottom  cut 
off  ;  it  is  about  two  feet  nine  inches  in  height,  four  inches  thick,, 
and  sloping  in  width  from  sixteen  inches  at  the  top  to  six  inches 
at  the  bottom.  It  is  a  common  dark  stone,  and  is  apparently  just 
as  it  was  found,  never  having  been  wrought  at  all  except  to  cut  the- 
letters  and  figures  upon  it.  Prof.  Perry  was  fortunate  in  being 
the  means  of  saving  so  interesting  a  relic.  Had  it  remained  on  the 
meadow  the  letters,  already  dim,  would  before  now  have  become? 
quite  illegible.  One  such  inscription  as  the  following  is  worth 
more,  as  authority,  than  any  amount  of  tradition  : 

June  12, 

1745, 
E.  NIM, 

At26y. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  Elisha  Nims  mentioned  above  as  having 
been  wounded  June  11,  1745,  and  his  death  took  place  the  follow- 
ing day.  In  the  grave  beneath  this  stone  the  partially  decayed 
skeleton  of  a  man  was  found,  and  lodged  in  one  of  the  joints  or 
vertebrae  of  his  backbone  was  the  fatal  bullet  which  caused  his 
death.  This  bone,  with  the  bullet  in  it,  may  be  seen  at  Williams 
College,  a  sad  memento  of  the  marksmanship  of  those  perilous 
days.  The  thigh  bones  are  very  sound  and  perfect,  and  of  large' 
size,  indicating  that  their  owner  was  over  six  feet  tall.  The  skull 
was  perfect,  and  the  jaw  had  every  tooth  sound,  excepting  one 
gone.  Tradition  states  that  this  young  man  was  shot  outside  the- 
fort,  while  obtaining  water  from  the  excellent  spring  on  the  north 
bank.  There  was  a  well  inside  the  fort,  but  the  preference  for 
spring  water  is  not  strange  in  any  one,  and  especially  not  in  those 
who  toiled  as  the  soldiers  of  that  day  did.  Tradition  also  states, 
that  an  Indian  was  shot  on  the  north  bank  by  a  soldier  named 
Howland,  with  a  *^^long  gun,"  after  he  had  repeatedly  and  grossly 
insulted  the  men  in  the  fort.  Instances  occurred  in  which  the- 
enemy  were  thus  killed  at  the  extraordinary  distance  of  sixty  rods,, 
and  they  often  fell  Avhen  they  supposed  themselves  in  perfect 
sscLirity.  Habituated  to  sharp-shooting,  the  garrison  signaled  out 
the  assailants  whenever  they  exposed  themselves,  and  brought 
them  down  at  a  long  shot.  The  bank  west  of  the  Harrison  resi- 
dence, on  which  this  saucy  redskin  is  supposed  to  liave  stood  when 
he  received  his  punishment,  is  still  called  the  ^'Indian  ledge." 

In  the  burial  ground  were  four  other  small  headstones,  but  they 
bore  no  inscriptions.  The  names  of  the  men  whose  honored  duSt 
they    marked    are    unknown.      They  have  faded  into  obscurity,. 


12  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

together  with  a  thousand  incidents  that  would  interest  and  astonish 
the  present  generation,  accustomed  as  it  is  to  plenty,  security  and 
ease. 

Some  of  the  first  settlers  of  the  town  were  soldiers  located  at 
Fort  Massachusetts.  One  of  them,  a  John  Perry,  had  settled  here, 
built  for  himself  a  home  and  cleared  a  small  farm  at  the  time  the 
prisoners  were  taken,  August  20,  1746,  he  being  one  of  them.  His 
house  and  effects  it  seems  were  destroyed,  and  a  short  time  after 
his  release  from  captivity  he  petitioned  the  General  Court  for  com- 
pensation for  his  losses.  This  quaint  petition,  which  is  given  be- 
low,, was  disregarded  by  the  Court.  It  is  dated  November  5,  1747, 
less  than  three  months  after  his  return  from  captivity  : 

*'  Whereas,  your  Honors'  humble  Petitioner  enlisted  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  country,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Ephriam  AVil- 
liams,  in  the  year  1745,  and  was  posted  at  Fort  Massachusetts,  in 
Hoosuck,  and  upon  ye  encouragement  we  had  from  ye  late  Colonel 
John  Stoddard,  which  was  that  if  we  went,  with  our  families,  he 
did  not  doubt  but  that  ye  court  would  grant  us  land  to  settle  on, 
whereupon  I,  your  Honors'  humble  petitioner,  carried  up  my 
family,  with  my  household  goods  and  other  effects,  and  continued 
there  till  we  were  taken,  when  we  were  obliged  to  surrender  to  the 
French  and  Indian  enemy,  August  20th,  1746.  I  would  humbly 
lay  before  your  Honors  the  losses  I  sustained  then,  which  are  as 
foUoweth  :  A  house  which  I  built  there  for  my  family,  £80  ;  two 
feather  beds  with  their  furniture,  £100 ;  two  suits  of  apparel 
apiece  for  me  and  my  wife,  £150  ;  two  brass  kettles,  a  pot  of  pew- 
ter, with  tramel  tonge  and  fire  slice,  and  knives  and  forks  to  ye 
balance  of  £20  ;  one  crosscut  saw,  £20  ;  and  one  new  broadax,  £6; 
three  new  narrow  axes,  £8  ;  two  Steele  traps,  £14  ;  two  guns,  £32  ; 
one  pistol,  £5  ;  one  hundred  weight  of  sugar,  £20  ;  total,  £457, 
with  a  great  many  other  things  not  named.  The  losses  your  hum- 
ble petitioner  hath  met  with,  together  with  my  captivity,  hath  re- 
duced me  to  low  circumstances,  and  now  humbly  prayeth  your 
Honors  of  your  goodness  to  grant  him  a  grant  of  land  to  settle 
tipon  near  ye  forts,  where  I  fenced,  which  was  about  a  mile  west  of 
the  fort,  or  elsewhere,  where  your  Honors  pleaseth,  and  that  your 
Honors  may  have  a  full  reward  hereafter  for  all  your  pious  and 
charitable  deeds,  your  Honors'  humble  petitioner  shall  always 
pray."  John  Perry. 

This  date  places  John  Perry  as  the  first  settler  in  the  Iloosac 
Valley,  though  he  never  returned  here  after  his  captivity.  The 
estimates  he  made  of  the  property,  it  must  be  remembered,  were 
in  ^^lawful  money,"  that  is,  Colonial  bills  made  legal  tender,  and 
these,  during  that  very  year,  were  being  redeemed  by  Massachu- 
setts at  the  rate  of  eleven  for  one  silver  dollar. 


THE  NORTH  VILLAGE. 

CHAPTER  III. 


THE  location  of  this  village  proper,  by  the  original  survey,  was 
known  as  part  of  settling  lot  No.  24.  The  great  water  power 
— the  Hoosac  river  then  being  much  deeper  than  now — and  the 
probability  of  the  early  erection  of  mills  here,  must  have  attracted 
the  attention  of  farmers  and  other  settlers  to  this  point,  as  it  will 
be  recollected  that  in  the  year  1750  Captain  Ephraim  Williams  was 
bound,  in  consideratio  nof  the  grant  of  200  acres  of  land,  to  "build 
a  grist  and  saw  mill  within  two  years  on  the  Hoosac  river,  and  keep 
the  same  in  repair  for  twenty  years. '^  These  mills  were  erected  at 
North  Adams.  The  dam  was  thrown  across  the  river  at,  or  near, 
where  tlie  furnace  and  machine  shop  of  James  Hunter  &  Son  now 
stands,  just  above  the  Main  street  bridge.  The  grist  mill  was  upon 
the  west  and  the  saw  mill  upon  the  east  side  of  the  river,  about 
where  the  machine  shop  is  now  located.  An  old-fashioned  trestle 
bridge,  uncovered,  with  no  railing  except  a  huge  log  on  each  side, 
but  supported  by  strong  abutments,  spanned  the  river  just  below 
the  mills,  and  exactly  where  the  '^Phoenix  bridge"  now  stands. 

The  dam  and  mills  were  erected  by  a  Mr.  Hurd,  undoubtedly 
according  to  some  arrangement  made  by  Captain  Williams  with 
him.  Although  no  data  can  be  ascertained  of  the  time  of  erec- 
tion, yet  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  it  was  as  early  as  1752,  in 
order  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the  grant.  Mr.  Hurd, 
perhaps  the  Jedediah  Hurd  who  was  on  the  committee  of  safety  in 
1779,  sold  the  water  power  and  mills  directly  to  Elisha  Jones,  or  to 
some  one  who  did  sell  to  him,  before  or  in  the  early  part  of  the 
Revolution.  Elisha  Jones  was  the  father  or  Captain  Isreal  Jones, 
a  staunch  Whig,  and  a  member  of  the  first  board  of  selectmen  in 
Adams  ;  but  Elisha,  his  father  and  several  brotliers,  it  is  said,  were 


14  HISTORY  OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

Loyalists,  and  having  left  in  the  year  of  the  battle  of  Bennington, 
1777,  probably  to  avoid  the  rough  Whig  discipline  of  tar  and 
feathers  and  fence-rail  riding,  this  mill  privilege  and  five  acres 
of  land  adjoining,  principally  on  the  east  side,  were  confiscated  to 
the  Commonwealth.  Giles  Barnes  derived  his  title  from  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  appointed  to  take  care  of 
■^  ^spoils'"  of  the  Tories, 

In  1780  Mr.  Barnes  had  a  partner,  for  at  a  town  meeting  held 
Oct(iber  25th  of  that  year  it  was  voted  that  '^'the  bridge  near  Day 
&  Barnes'  mills  be  repaired  at  the  town's  expense."  Mr.  Barnes 
appears  to  have  been  a  business  man  of  some  ability,  for  he  was 
cho'sen  assessor  at  the  March  meeting  in  1780,  and  selectman  and 
town  clerk  in  1781.  In  1782  he  seems  to  have  become  sole  owner 
of  the  mills  again,  for  a  road  survey  ''was  made  on  the  west  side 
of  the  river  at  Mr.  Barnes'  mill,"  along  the  very  spot  from  which 
the  iron  horse  now  runs  his  race  with  "old  Sol"  toward  the  west. 

The  staunch  Whig  patriotism  of  Isreal  Jones  has  been  denied. 
The  grounds  of  denial  were  that  he  is  believed  to  absented  himself 
from  town  in  1777,  the  year  of  Burgoyne's  capture  ;  that  his 
family  connections  were  Tories,  and  fled  to  the  British  provinces  ; 
that  his  chimney  tops  were  painted  white,  the  usual  telegraphic 
signal  of  Toryism  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  AVhatever 
Tumors  may  have  been  afloat  respecting  Mr.  Jones'  political  senti- 
ments, they  did  not  affect  his  standing  among  his  townsmen,  who 
w^ere  zealous  Whigs  and  sagacious  observers.  His  character  as  a 
man,  a  citizen  and  a  (Christian  were  never  impeached.  He  was  a 
Tn-ember  of  the  first  board  of  selectmen  chosen  in  1779,  and  held 
town  offioes  innumerable  for  years,  being  very  frequently  modera- 
tor in  to\VTi  meetings.  He  was  chosen  representative  to  the 
<jreneral  Court  of  Massachusetts  in  1785,  re-elected  in  '80,  and  re- 
•elected  again  for  six  years,  from  1792  to  1797,  inclusive. 

Isreal  Jones  was  the  fourth  of  fifteen  children,  and  was  born  in 
Weston,  Middlesex  County,  in  this  state.  His  father,  Elisha 
Jones,  was  one  of  the  three  original  proprietors  of  the  township  of 
Adams.  Isreal  first  settled  in  Pittsfield,  but  removed  to  East 
Hoosac  in  176*6.  H«  owned  and  resided  for  sixty-three  years  on 
the  farm  now  occupied  by  Eobert  Harrison.  He  was  extensively 
•engaged  in  settling  and  dealing  in  lands.  Many  of  the  early 
deeds  were  given  by  him,  either  as  principal  or  agent.  He  was  by 
profession  and  in  practice  an  excellent  surveyor,  and  was  con- 
stantly employed  in  that  capacity-.  Most  of  the  roads  described  in 
the  town  records  were  laid  out  by  him.  The  federal  government,  in 
1798,  appointed  him  one  of  the  commissioners  to  adjust  the  line  be- 


HJSTOKY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  15 

tvveen  the  United  States  and  southeastern  Canada.  He  was  a  trustee 
first  of  the  free  school  and  afterward  of  the  college  in  Williams- 
town.  He  was  probably  one  of  the  first  Justices  of  the  Peace 
appointed  in  town,  and  served  in  that  capacity  more  or  less  for 
forty  years.  He  married,  in  1707,  Alithea,  daughter  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Todd,  the  first  minister  settled  in  this  town,  and  lived  with  her 
fifty-nine  years.  They  had  nine  children.  In  1803  he  became  a 
member  of  the  church  in  Williamstown,  and  regularly  attended 
worship  there  until  he  aided  in  organizing  the  Congregational 
church  in  this  village,  in  1827.  Although  a  small  man  in  stature, 
he  must  have  possessed  an  iron  constitution,  as  he  was  active,  hale 
and  hearty  up  to  the  very  day  of  his  death,  September  11,  1829, 
when  he  lacked  only  ten  days  of  being  nihety-one  years  of  age.  He 
rode  on  horseback  to  Stamford  and  returned  the  forenoon  before 
his  death.  Laying  down  to  take  an  after-dinner  nap,  as  was  his 
custom,  desiring  to  be  called  in  an  hour,  that  he  might  ride  to 
Williamstown  before  night.  When  his  daughter  tried  to  awaken 
him  the  effort  was  in  vain  ;  his  soul  had  departed  without  a  strug- 
gle. His  death  created  a  profound  sensation,  for  he  was  truly  one 
of  the  pillars  of  the  town  amid  its  early  difficulties. 

The  site  of  this  village  was  formerly  a  jiine  forest,  with  some 
white  oak  intermingled.  The  principal  staple  of  early  traffic  was, 
therefore,  pine  and  other  lumber  ;  and  the  material  of  which  the 
fences  and  many  of  the  early  buildings  were  constructed  was  such 
as  to  give  it  the  name  of  ^SSlab  City.^^  Like  those  farmers  who 
eat  only  such  produce  as  they  can't  sell,  many  of  the  men  who 
built  took  lumber  that  was  not  merchantable.  The  stumps  of 
huge  trees  remained  for  a  long  time  in  the  very  streets,  and  Main 
street,  it  is  said,  was  only  cleared  by  a  ^*bee"  of  some  fifty  men, 
with  teams,  headed  by  that  indefatigable  roadmaker,  Jere  Col- 
grove,  Sr.  The  digging  of  cellars  and  the  preparation  of  gardens 
were  very  much  impeded  by  these  stumps.  In  times  of  freshet  the 
lower  portion  of  the  village  was  flooded  by  the  river,  rocks  of 
enormous  size  and  gravel  by  the  ton  being  distributed  plentifully 
across  the  ''flats."  There  are  evidences  of  the  river  having  for- 
merly been  much  broader  than  now,  and  it  certainly  rose  higher 
and  was  more  ungovernable  at  the  dreaded  season  of  "breaking 
up"  of  the  ice  after  the  vigorous  winters  of  one  hundred  years 
ago.  The  furious  flood  has  been  known  to  sweep  from  the  point 
where  the  lower  bridge  on  Union  street  is  located  across  the  entire 
village  south,  to  the  bank  bordering  Church  and  Summer  streets. 
The  entire  flat  where  now  most  of  the  trade  and  mercantile  busi- 
ness of  the  village  are  transacted,  would  be  washed  with  an  ice- 


16  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

cold  stream,  driving  the  se'ttlers  from  their  houses,  sweeping  away 
or  greatly  damaging  the  little  property  they  possessed,  and  liter- 
ally drowning  the  hopes  they  had  cherished  of  a  prosperous  season, 
by  obliging  them  to  begin  anew.  The  clearing  up  of  the  forests 
and  consequent  drying  of  the  springs,  as  well  as  the  more  gradual 
melting  of  the  snow,  has  diminished  the  volume  of  water  in  all  the 
streams,  and  such  extraordinary  freshets  are  no  longer  to  be  feared. 
Like  other  dangers,  out  of  sight,  they  are  out  of  mind. 

The  village  site  and  its  immediate  vicinity  was  called  by  early 
settlers  the  poorest  part  of  the  town  of  Adams.  It  was  miserable 
land  for  farming  purposes,  like  most  pine  land.  The  first  farmers 
preferred  settling  on  the  mountain  slope  ;  they  said  the  '*flat 
would  hardly  bear  white  beans."  The  pine  lumber,  however,  was 
of  first  rate  quality.  Tradition  states  that  one  tree  was  felled  of 
the  extraordinary  height  of  114  feet  to  the  first  limb.  Very  little 
pine  timber  grew  at  any  other  point  within  a  dozen  miles  or  more. 

About  the  year  1756,  and  during  the  last  French  war  a  saw  mill 
was  erected  near  the  site  of  the  cotton  mill  now  owned  by  the 
Freeman  Manufacturing  Company,  called  the  "Estes  mill."  This 
saw  mill  is  supposed  to  have  been  on  the  south  bank  of  the  river, 
and  the  primitive  forest  extended  to  the  north  bank.  Tradition 
further  states  that  an  Indian,  standing  on  a  rock  on  the  north 
bank,  fired  across  the  river  and  shot  the  man  who  was  running  the 
mill  while  he  was  at  work,  and  caused  his  death.  This  wa^  the 
Indian  method  of  warfare. 

Oliver  Parker,  Sr.,  who  settled  in  this  town  in  1766,  and  was  a 
conspicuous  Whig  and  a  town  officer  for  many  years,  built  two 
dams  and  a  saw  and  grist  mill  at  the  ''upper  union" — the  saw  mill 
standing  near  the  southern  end  of  the  Eclipse  mill  and  the  grist 
mill  near  the  northern  end.  These  mills  were  in  operation  before 
1780,  and  did  considerable  business.  They  were  carried  oif  in  the 
terrible  freshet  in  the  month  of  April,  1785,  called  the  ''Parker^s 
flood"  for  many  years  after,  on  account  of  the  damage  it  inflicted 
upon  him.  He  lost  about  50,000  feet  of  sawed  lumber  by  the  flood, 
and  the  grist  mill  stones  were  lodged  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and 
remained  there  visible  for  many  years.  This  flood  was  one  of  those 
which  deluged  almost  the  entiro  village,  as  above  described.  Giles 
Barnes,  whose  mill  property  was  in  great  danger  from  it,  and  who 
was  a  blunt-spoken  man,  said  "  Noah^s  flood  was  the  only  one  that 
ever  equalled  it."  The  only  road  to  Parker's  mills  was  the  old 
clay-bank  road,  over  Church  hill,  which  afterward  sunk  to  the 
ignoble  condition  of  a  foot  path,  but  of  late  years  repaired  and 
made  a  public  highway. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  17 

Daniel  Harrington  built  another  saw  and  grist  mill  on  the  site 
of  Parker's  mills,  probably  before  1790.  He  run  these  mills  for 
several  years  ;  was  reputed  a  very  straightforward  man,  fair  in  his 
dealings,  plain  and  downright  in  expressing  his  opinion. 

Amos  Bronson,  familiarly  known  as  **Elder  Bronson,''  ran  a 
saw  mill  near  the  corner  of  Union  street  and  the  road  connecting 
this  street  with  Eagle,  past  the  Eagle  mill,  prior  to  1790.  The 
only  road  to  this  was  from  Eagle  street,  up  the  north  fork  of  the- 
river,  and  is  to-day  a  very  passable  highway,  making  a  short  cut, 
out  between  Eagle  and  Union  streets.  Mr.  Bronson  lived  in  an  old: 
house  at  the  corner  of  River  and  Eagle  streets,  which  was  torn^ 
down  in  1858 to  make  room  for  the  store  now  occupying  that  site.. 
Elder  l^ronson  was  a  remarkable  man  in  many  respects.  He  was  a. 
very  ingenious  mechanic,  a  millwright,  a  carpenter,  and,  in  fact^ 
handy  at  anything.  He  worked  by  the  day  at  almost  any  jobs.. 
He  was  a  sort  of  doctor  and  a  preacher  of  the  Baptist  denomina-- 
tion.  He  labored  in  the  latter  capacity  for  many  years.  Though: 
plain  and  rough-cast  in  his  speech  and  manners,  he  was  a  man  of" 
sterling  honesty  and  sincere  piety.  He  removed  West  before  1815,. 
and  died  there  at  a  very  advanced  age. 

In  1792  or  '93  David  Estes  came  to  this  town  from  Rhode  Island. 
In  1795  he  bought  settling  lot  No.  25,  embracing  all  the  land  north 
of  Centre  street  almost  to  Liberty,  and  extending  eastward  to  the 
site  of  the  Freeman  Print  Works.  This  lot  was  formerly  owned  by 
Murray  &  Jones,  who  were  among  the  original  grantees  of  the 
township.  Murray  fled  in  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  being  a 
Tory,  and  his  share  of  the  lot  was  confiscated.  Eli  Persons  bought 
it  of  the  Conamonwealth  and  sold  it  to  Burrall  Sutton  and  Burrall 
Wells.  Theseparties  sold  it  to  Jencks  Ruttenf ur,  and  he  in  turn  sold 
it  to  David  Estes  for  £150,  or  about  $500  of  our  money  at  that 
time.  This  lot  was  in  those  days  a  complete  wilderness,  and  valua- 
ble only  for  its  mill  privileges.     The  garden  plats  did  not  thrive. 

David  Estes  was  a  man  of  great  industry  and  economy,  and  had 
a  keen  eye  for  practical  utility.  He  commenced  making  cut  nails 
by  manual  labor  in  1793  or  '94,  having  procured  the  tools  in  Rhode 
Island,  and  brought  the  nail  rods  from  Salisbury,  Conn.,  in  a  one- 
horse  cart.  The  nails  were  cut  of  proper  length  by  heavy  shears,, 
and  headed  cold  in  dies  brought  together  by  pressure  of  the  foot  on 
a  spring.  Most  of  the  early  buildings  after  Mr.  Estes  came  were 
put  up  with  his  nails.  They  were  tough,  and  would  clinch  like 
wrought  iron — differing  from  the  deceitful  cut  nails  of  modern 
times.  Many  of  these  nails,  taken  out  of  old  buildings,  would  last 
another  century,  and  many  yet  remain  in  buildings.     Shingle  nails 


18  HISTORY   OF   XOllTII    ADAMS. 

sold  for  17  cents  per  pound,  or  50  cents  per  1000  ;  larger  nails  at 
from  I'Z  1-2  to  15  cents  per  pound.  Saddle  nails  were  also  made 
by  Mr.  Estes,  and  sold  in  Brattleboro,  Greenfield  and  many  other 
places.  The  nail  business  was  continued  until  about  the  year  1810, 
when  Mr.  Estes  became  absorbed  in  more  extensive  enterprises. 

In  February,  1794,  Jere.  Colgrove,  Sr.,  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Elisha  Brown  of  North  Providence,  E.  I.,  bought  Giles  l>arnes' 
property,  heretofore  mentioned  as  doubtless  the  first  mill  in  North 
Adams.  The  estate  included  an  old  saw  and  grist  mill,  the  mill 
privilege,  and  about  80  acres  of  land,  5  acres  being  west  of  the 
river  and  a  part  of  the  confiscated  lot  No.  26.  The  remaining  75 
acres  were  east  of  the  river,  and  is  now  the  most  thickly  settled 
part  of  the  village.  It  included  a  1 1-2  story  frame  house,  stand- 
ing near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Marshall  streets,  having  a  large 
garden.  The  price  paid  Mr.  Barnes  was  about  $1200.  Most  of 
the  pine  timber  had  been  cut  off.  The  mills,  being  probably  forty 
years  old,  were  much  dilapidated.  The  grist  mill  was  never  run 
by  Mr.  Colgrove,  and  the  saw  mill  was  only  run  to  prepare  lumber 
for  building  new  mills.  The  following  year  he  built  a  new  dam 
where  the  present  dam  of  M.  D.  &  A.  W.  Hodge  now  is,  and  a 
grist  mill  on  the  present  site  of  their  grist  mill,  thus  obtaining  a 
greater  head  of  water  than  Barnes'  mills  enjoyed.  The  new  saw 
mill  was  directly  opposite,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  These 
mills  stood  until  about  the  year  1820.  They  enjoyed  a  steady  run 
of  custom.  Wheat  was  a  staple  crop  on  new  land,  one  farmer  in 
the  notch  raising  nearly  700  bushels  in  one  year.  Lumber  for 
building  purposes  was  also  furnished  on  contracts  by  Mr.  Colgrove. 
After  the  first  year  he  operated  the  mills  alone,  having  purchased 
the  interest  of  Mr.  Brown. 

About  the  year  1800  Jeremiah  Colgrove  built  an  oil-mill  on  the 
west  side  of  the  river.  The  process  of  manufacturing  oil  by  him 
was  quite  simple.  Flax  seed  was  crushed  between  iron  rollers  and 
under  mill  stones;  it  was  then  mixed  with  water,  heated  and 
steamed  in  an  iron  barrel,  then  pressed  with  a  screw-press  of  great 
power,  operated  by  a  horizontal  wheel  that  would  turn  the  screw 
up  or  down  as  might  be  desired.  The  arms  of  this  press  consisted 
of  two  oaken  logs  of  the  utmost  solidity  and  strength  that  could 
be  obtained.  They  squeezed  out  the  oil  in  a  pure  state.  It  was 
sold  in  Troy,  Albany  and  elsewhere.  The  oil  cake  being  an  excel- 
lent article  of  food  for  cattle  and  sheep,  met  with  a  quick  sale  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  mill.  Flax  being  extensively  raised  in  this  sec- 
tion and  made  into  domestic  linen,  the  seed  was  plentifully  obtained 
-and  the  oil  business  paid  well.     The  introduction  of  cotton  cloth, 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  19 

and  the  rapidity  with  which  it  superceded  home-made  linen, 
blighted  the  culture  of  flax  and  the  seed  could  not  be  obtained 
cheaply  enough  to  render  the  business  a  lucrative  one.  It  gradu- 
<ally  declined  after  the  year  1828  and  the  oil  of  this  mill  ceased  to 
lubricate  the  wheels  of  the  machinery  here  about  1830.  The  mill 
was  run  by  various  parties,  among  them  being  E.  D.  Whitaker, 
who  in  1827  advertised  in  the  first  newspaper  printed  in  the  vil- 
lage for  -'  500  bushels  flax  seed."  Portions  of  this  mill  were  after- 
wards used  in  the  construction  of  a  grist  and  saw  mill  run  by  wat- 
er and  steam  power,  and  which  was  burned  in  1854. 

Prior  to  1785  there  were  only  five  dwellings  in  the  village. 
Giles  Barnes  resided  in  one  standing  on  the  west  side  of  Mar- 
shall street  near  the  corner  of  Main.     The  cellar  afterwards  formed 
^a  part  of  the  ditch  for  the  old  Brick  Factory.     This  is  believed  to 
have  been  the  first  house  erected  in  North  Adams.     It  was  a  low, 
•one-story  structure. 

Josiah  Wright  resided  in  a  house  on  Marshall  street,  just  south 
•of  the  Arnold  Print  Works  property. 

Eli  Colton,  from  Wilbraham,  built  and  resided  in  a  house  on  the 
present  site  of  the  old  part  of  the  Berkshire  house. 

Samuel  Day  resided  in  a  house  near  the  corner  of  Main  and 
'State  streets,  which  was  afterwards  part  of  the  Old  Black  Tavern 
'building,  most  likely  the  eastern  part  of  that  famous  structure. 

Wm.  Farrand  purchased  and  lived  in  a  house  on  the  site  of  the 
large  square  house  on  the  hill  at  the  foot  of  Main  street  and  west 

•  of  the  Main  street  bridge. 

The  principal  land  holders  in  the  village  in  the  year  1795,  were 
•Jeremiah  Colgrove  Sr.,  Israel  Jones,  David  Estes  and  David  Dar- 
ling. In  the  year  1794  when  Mr.  Colgrove  moved  here  there  were 
less  than  a  dozen  dwellings  in  the  whole  village.     Their  locations 

•  and  the  occupants  names  were  as  follows: 

A  small  house  occupied  by  Mr.  Rose,  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
dwelling  on  Robinson's  hill  at  the  foot  of  Main  street, 

Asa  Doty  resided  in  a  house  located  under  the  hill,  a  little  west 
and  north  of  Main  street  bridge.  The  same  was  many  years  after- 
wards occupied  by  Hodge  &  Dean,  tanners,  in  part  for  finishing 
•off  leather,  etc. 

Mr.  Corliss  lived  in  a  house  just  in  the  rear  of  where  now  stands 
Hie  Berkshire  house. 

Amos  Bronson  had  a  dwelling  on  ground  where  Freeman's  store 
is  located,  north  of  Eagle  bridge  and  corner  of  River  and  Eagle 
^streets. 

David  Darling  owned  and  resided  in  a  low  structure  and  kitchen 


20  HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

attached  to  same,  which  afterwards  formed  the  east  wing  of  what 
is  familiarly  known  as  the  "Black  Tavern,"  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  State  streets.  In  1795  Mr.  Darling  opened  and  kept  a  public 
house  in  this  small  structure,  the  first  and  for  a  long  time  the  on- 
ly hotel  in  North  Adams.,  and  to  be  particularly  described  here- 
after. 

Ebeneezer  Slocum  resided  in  a  house  on  Church  street. 

Elisha  Houghton  had  a  dwelling  about  25  rods  north  of  the  one 
above  mentioned, believed  to  be  on  the  site  of  house  at  south  corner 
of  Liberty  and  Eagle  streets. 

David  Estes  owned  and  occupied  the  house  now  standing  on 
Centre  street,  west  of  J.  A.  Bond  &  Bros.'  stable.  No  street  was 
then  laid  out  and  only  a  foot  path  or  lane  lead  from  his  house  to 
Eagle  street. 

Captain  Geo.  Ray  lived  in  a  dwelling  near  the  river  bank  a  little 
north  of  the  site  of  Hodge's  grist  mill. 

Josiah  Holbrook  lived  in  a  log  house  near  the  residence  of  Iv- 
ory Witt  on  State  street. 

Jeremiah  Colgrove  Sr.  resided  in  a  small  frame  house  near  the 
corner  of  Marshall  and  Main  streets  until  1810. 

Total  number  of  dwellings  in  1704,  eleven. 

Josiah  Holbrook,  mentioned  above,  was  a  man  of  giant  stature, 
almost  as  large  boned  as  the  horse  he  bestrode.  He  had  a  voice 
like  thunder,  and  was  remarkably  bold  and  determined  in  spirit. 
He  was  one  of  the  American  volunteers  at  the  battle  of  Benning- 
ton in  1777,  and  tradition  states  that  he  made  prisoners  of  thirteen 
of  the  Hessian  soldiers  who  had  wandered  from  the  battle  field. 
He  caught  them  drinking  at  a  spring,  seized  all  their  guns  and 
pointing  one  at  them  while  he  shouldered  the  others,  bawled 
in  terrible  tones  to  his  imaginary  comrads  to  "  Come  on,  boys  ! 
here  they  are,"  drove  the  whole  baker's  dozen  of  mercenaries,  like 
unresisting  sheep,  into  the  camp.  On  being  questioned  by  Gen- 
eral Stark  as  to  the  manner  in  which  such  a  herd  was  captured, 
he  replied  "I  surrounded  them,  sir."  Mr.  Holbrook  was  one  of  the 
rebels  under  Shays  in  1786,  and  marched  eastward  with  several 
others.  After  the  defeat  of  that  movement  and  his  return  home, 
a  party  of  four  troopers  tried  in  vain  to  arrest  him,  but  he  fright- 
ening them  away.  He  was  only  captured  by  a  company  sur- 
rounding his  house  at  night,  breaking  in  the  door,  seizing  him  and 
binding  him  to  the  bed.  He  submitted  because  he  could  not  help 
it.  Gave  up  all  his  arms,  took  the  oath  of  alliegance  to  the  common- 
wealth, and  was  released.  His  name  with  junior  appended,  his 
father    being    of    the   same    name,    appears  in  the  town  records 


IIISTOKY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  21 

as  one  of  the  rebels  who  was  pardoned  by  General  Lincoln  when 
he  marched  into  this  county  in  1787.  Mr.  Holbrook  resided  in 
this  house  for  many  years,  and  though  it  is  some  80  rods  south  of 
Main  street,  it  was  a  standing  joke  among  the  villagers  that  Hol- 
brook's  whisper  could  be  distinctly  heard  by  everybody  when  he 
was  out  of  doors,  while  his  voice  resounded  to  the  top  of  Hoosac 
mountain.  He  had  one  of  those  heroic  souls  set  in  an  iron  con- 
stitution that  were  well  fitted  to  grapple  with  the  difficulties  of  a 
new  settlement  in  a  country  like  this. 

The  obstacles  in  the  way  of  conducting  business  successfully,  for 
want  of  a  circulating  medium,  were  such  as  to  be  beyond  the  com- 
prehension of  the  present  generation.  There  was  a  constant 
money  pressure,  equal  to  that  of  hydraulic  power.  There  was 
neither  money  nor  property  enough  in  town  to  pay  the  taxes  and 
leave  a  fair  support  behind.  The  rates  were  abated  to  a  large  ex- 
tent every  year.  The  old  Continental  money  had  depreciated  so 
as  to  be  almost  worthless.  At  the  close  of  the  war  it  required  $20 
of  this  money  to  buy  a  dinner,  and  $1000  or  more  to  buy  a  suit  of 
clothes,  while  the  condition  of  the  poor  discharged  soldiers  who 
were  paid  off  in  the  miserable  shinplasters  at  their  normal  value  was 
pitiful  indeed. 

Oliver  Parker,  Sr.,  in  1777  '^got  his  name  up*"  for  tavern  keej)- 
ing,  on  the  Isreal  Jones  (now  Harrison)  place.  Soldiers  from  the 
east  and  southeast  passed  through  the  town  on  their  way  to  take 
Burgoyne  in  such  numbers  that  Landlord  Parker  had  -almost  a 
captain's  company  to  dinner  every  day  for  a  while,  and  they  con- 
sumed four  or  five  beeves  per  week.  Every  nook  and  cranny  of 
the  house  was  filled  at  night,  the  barrooms  and  other  floors  were 
pilei  thickly  with  weary  soldiers,  and  even  the  barn  and  sheds  were 
appropriated  for  their  use.  Hardship  and  fatigue  made  sleep 
sweet  on  the  roughest  couch.  A  large  share  of  these  customers 
would  leave  no  pay  for  their  entertainment,  but  the  Parkers  were 
too  staunch  Whigs  to  act  penuriously  toward  the  defenders  of 
American  liberty.  Hotel  keeping  under  these  circumstances  could 
not  have  been  a  very  lucrative  business,  and  the  Continental  or 
*^card  money"'  that  was  paid  in  had  a  sort  of  imaginary  fluctuating 
value  that  might  make  a  man  the  poorer  the  more  he  possessed  of 
it.  While  Oliver  Parker  sustained  the  bodies  of  the  soldiers  with 
good  fare,  whether  he  made  or  lost  by  it,  his  brothers,  Didimus  and 
Ezra,  with  his  nephew  Giles,  marched  to  Bennington  and  shared  in 
the  glory  of  winning  that  memorable  victory.  Didimus  Parker  was 
a  Captain  at  Bennington. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  January  17,  1786,  it  was  ^^voted  that  it 


22  HISTOEY   OF    N^ORTH   ADAMS. 

be  recommended  to  the  General  Court  to  pass  a  law  making  both 
real  and  personal  estate  a  tender."     Voted  ''that  it  also  be  recom- 
mended to  the  General  Court  to  strike  a  paper  currency  in  this, 
state." 

The  heavy  burden  of  debt  in  which  most  of  the  towns  were  in- 
volved by  their  aid  to  the  Revolution,  the  suspension  of  industrial 
enterprises  and  loss  of  profit  therefrom  by  drawing  off  so  many  of 
the  best  men  for  the  army,  and  especially  the  lack  of  a  uniform 
circulating  medium  in  which  payments  of  all  kinds  could  be  made^. 
maddened  men  into  violent  and  lawless  demonstrations.  Shay's- 
rebellion  was  mainly  kindled  by  the  oppressive  load  of  taxation  and 
the  impossibilities  of  casting  of  the  load  through  the  courts  or 
Legislature.  The  state  tax  imposed  on  this  town  was  felt  to  be 
peculiarly  onerous.  In  one  instance  it  was  not  paid  under  four 
years.  At  a  town  meeting  held  January  0,  1792,  Israel  Jones  was 
chosen  an  ''agent  to  go  to  the  General  Court  and  obtain  an  abate- 
ment of  the  tax  laid  on  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  in  1788." 

Oliver  Parker,  Sr.,  was  ruined  pecuniarily,  sent  to  jail  and  his 
bondsmen  mulcted,  because  he  could  not  perform  impossibilities — 
collect  the  taxes  in  such  hard  times.  Town  meetings  without 
number  were  held  on  the  great  question  of  "how  to  raise  the  wind."" 
Farmers'  produce  was  accepted  for  taxes  at  a  stipulated  price,  the 
town  debts  were  paid  in  the  same  way  in  1781,  and  all  the  highway 
taxes  were  worked  out  by  men  and  oxen  for  many  years.  But  even 
with  a  general  system  it  was  "hard  sledding."  A  great  many  hon- 
est, industrious,  frugal  men  were  unable  to  feed  their  households 
and  satisfy  the  tax  gatherer  from  the  produce  of  their  stony,, 
stumpy  and  rudely  tilled  acres. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  August  2G,  1786,  it  Avas  voted  "that  the 
present  assessors  of  this  town  be  a  committee  to  settle  with  the  col-- 
lectors  and  make  abatements  of  such  taxes  as  they  shall  suppose 
necessary."  October  30,  1786,  the  selectmen  were  appointed  a 
committee  for  the  same  purpose ;  but  at  the  same  meeting  it  was^ 
voted  "that  the  collector  collect  the  town  taxes  and  pay  them  to 
the  town  treasurer  immediately,  and  the  town  will  support  him  in 
so  doing." 

The  pressure  of  poverty  was  so  severe  that  the  town's  poor  were 
increasing  with  undue  rapidity,  and  March  11,  1791,  Ezra  Parker 
was  instructed  by  the  selectmen  "to  warn  and  give  notice  unto 
twenty-eight  persons,"  whose  names  were  set  down  in  the  warrant,, 
"the  same  being  laborers  or  transient  persons,  as  the  case  may  be,, 
who  have  lately  come  to  this  town  for  the  purpose  of  abiding  there- 
in, not  having  obtained  the  town's  consent  thereto,  that  he  or  she 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  23 

depart  the  limits  thereof,  with  their  children  and  others  under 
their  care,  if  such  they  have,  within  fifteen  days."  The  constable 
makes  returns  that  the  warning  was  given  by  him  in  due  form 
to  the  twenty-eight  persons  named,  and  such  further  legal  proceed- 
ihgs  were  threatened  as  will  save  the  town  from  becoming  a  pau- 
pers' nest.  The  crime  of  being  poor  and  shiftless  was  more  severely 
punished  in  those  days  than  now.  No  man  was  allowed  to  vote 
unless  he  owned  a  freehold  estate  of  the  annual  income  of  £3,  or 
some  estate  to  the  value  of  £60. 

The  river  and  brooks  were  nobly  stocked  with  trout  at  the  first 
settlement  here,  and  before  the  mills  and  factories  had  bewitched 
the  water.  The  woods  afforded  considerable  game — deer,  squirrels, 
wild  fowl,  etc.  Deer  have  been  shot  within  the  village  limits. 
Bears  ranged  the  mountains,  foxes  were  more  numerous  than  poul- 
try yards,  and  wolves  were  so  troublesome  that*  the  town  offered  a 
bounty  for  their  heads.  Among  the  early  residents  there  was  so 
much  destitution,  and  yet  such  a  neighborly  spirit,  that  Giles 
Barnes,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  decided  wag,  said  a  family  would 
make  soup  of  beef  bones  one  day,  pass  them  to  another  family  next 
day  to  be  made  a  second  soup  of,  and  so  they  would  go  around  until 
the  whole  settlement  had  participated. 


STORES,  TRADING  AND  BARTER, 

CHAPTER  IV. 


AMONG  the  meii  of  this  town  who  were  implicated  in  Shay^s 
rebellion,  in  178G-7,  and  were  pardoned  on  giving  up  their 
arms  and  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Commonwealth,  were 
Joshua  Read  and  Trulove  Brewster,  traders. 

As  nearly  as  can  now  be  ascertained,  Joshua  Read  was  a  trader  at 
Adams,  and  probably  Trulove  Brewster,  also.  Read  was  born  on  a 
farm  in  Cheshire.  They  are  alluded  to  as  the  only  traders  men- 
tioned in  the  town  records  prior  to  1800,  and  if  they  are  mentioned 
as  culprits,  that  only  proves  their  opponents  were  the  strongest.  If 
Shays  had  succeeded,  his  movement  would  have  been  a  * 'glorious 
Tevolution."  There  was  undoubtedly  in  this  region  strong  sympa- 
thy felt  for  the  insurrection,  and  some  of  the  ''first  men"  were  en- 
gaged in  it. 

The  first  store  ever  kept  within  the  limits  of  North  Adams, 
though  outside  of  what  are  considered  village  limits,  was  by  Mar* 
shall  Jones.  He  commenced  in  1793,  in  a  shop  previously  occu- 
pied by  Christopher  Penniman  as  a  cabinet  shop.  Penniman  was 
one  of  the  apprentices  who  came  here  from  Boston  with  a  Mr. 
Veazie,  before  1789.  The  shop  stood  a  few  rods  west  of  Isreal 
Jones'  house,  now  Mrs.  Harrison's.  After  a  few  months  Mr.  Jones 
removed  to  a  building  which  stood  near  Daniel  Wells'  present  resi- 
dence, and  remained  there  about  two  years.  His  fatlier  built  the 
house  on  Robinson  hill,  with  a  store  near  it,  opposite  Main  street 
bridge,  and  the  son  removed  down  into  the  village  and  continued 
in  trade  for  several  years,  until  he  left  town.  He  had  kept  store 
about  a  year  when  Chad  Brown  commenced.  The  house  has  un- 
dergone some  alterations  since  Mr.  Jones'  time.  The  store  was  of 
a  red  color,  and  was  torn  down  some  few  years  ago. 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS.  25 

A  couple  of  men — names  and  date  unknown — came  this  village 
and  opened  the  first  store  for  the  sale  of  dry  goods  near  the  Main 
street  bridge.  They  did  not  keep  a  large  stock  nor  continue  busi- 
ness more  than  a  month  or  two.  The  Williamstown  traders  kept 
a  better  variety  and  undersold  them.  In  very  early  times  people 
walked  from  this  place  to  Williamstown  to  purchase  groceries  or 
teas.  Though  the  roads  were  terribly  rough,  and  the  river  had  to 
be  forded  more  than  once,  the  stalwart  boys  (and  frequently  the 
girls)  of  those  days  did  not  shrink  from  the  trip.  Indeed,  they 
enjoyed  it.  Bounding  health  made  severe  exercise  to  our  ancestors 
a  pastime.  The  trade  of  this  town  also  went  to  Lanesboro  to  some 
extent.  Oliver  Parker,  Sr.,  brought  grain  one  season  from  Green- 
field on  horseback,  by  an  Indian  path  over  Hoosac  mountain,  and 
a  2^art  of  it  was  carried  to  Williamstown  to  be  ground  at  the  "Krig- 
ger  mills,'"  fording  the  river  three  times  to  get  there.  These  mills 
had  a  great  reputation. 

The  first  store  for  the  sale  of  groceries  in  this  village  was  kept  by 
William  Farrand,  near  his  house.  He  hauled  the  goods  from  Bos- 
ton by  ox-teams,  and  therefore  kept  but  a  limited  stock,  perhaps 
one  or  two  loads.  He  sold  a  l)ushel  of  salt  to  Captain  Shippee  of 
Clarksburg  for  $10  I  To  say  that  a  man  was  *^'not  worth  the  salt 
for  his  porridge"  could  not  be  considered  in  those  times  a  very  se- 
vere slur,  especially  if  he  ate  porridge  with  a  wood-chopper's  appe- 
tite, for  the  salt  was  the  most  expensive  ingredient. 

Sutton  &  Wells,  in  1 795,  opened  and  kept  a  store  for  the  sale  of 
merchandise,  in  a  shop-like  building  near  or  adjoining  the  Corliss 
House,  now  the  site  of  the  Richmond  House. 

Marshall  Jones,  in  1800,  having  returned  to  town,  built  the  house 
and  store  (now  standing)  on  the  hill  west  of  Main  street  bridge. 
This  building  is  now  converted  into  a  tenement  house.  Mr.  Jones 
kept  store  there  for  several  years.  The  building  is  still  substantial 
looking. 

Chad  Brown  sold  goods  in  a  small  building  located  about  on  the 
corner  of  Bank  and  Main  streets.  Mr.  Brown  was  a  man  of  fair 
capacity,  and  was  elected  Town  Clerk  in  1802,  which  office  he  held 
for  four  years.  He  finally  removed  to  South  Adams,  which  was 
then  the  larger  and  more  thriving  settlement,  and  supposed  to 
afford  the  best  field  for  Yankee  shrewdness  in  bargaining. 

A  grocery  store  was  kept  where  the  J.  H.  Adams  block  now 
stands,  on  Main  street. 

Dr.  James  Cummings,  in  1803,  built  a  house,  with  store  in  front, 
and  sold  general  merchandise  on  the  site  of  the  building,  east  of  L. 
W.  White's  jewelry  store.     This  store  was  afterward  occupictl  by 


26  HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

William  E.  Brayton  as  the  National  Express  office  and  flour  and 
grocery  store.  The  old  store  on  this  site  was  kept  after  Dr.  Cum- 
mings  by  Henry  Remmington,  also  by  Tinker  &  Brayton.  Dr. 
Cummings  was  a  man  who  combined  worldly  wisdom  with  religious 
zeal  in  such  proportions  as  gave  him  great  influence  in  the  commu- 
nity. He  was  a  conspicuous  member  of  the  Baptist  church,  or- 
ganized here  in  1808. 

Captain  Carter  kept  groceries  for  sale  on  Eagle  street,  in  the 
brick  building  afterward  well  known  as  the  ''brick  meat  market,' 
which  was  near  the  site  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Dr.  Cummings,  in  1810,  purchased  the  house  and  lot  on  Church 
street  on  the  site  of  S.  Blackinton's  residence,  and  soon  after  built 
a  store  in  front  of  the  house  then  located  there.  The  store  stood 
very  near  the  corner.  About  the  year  182G  the  store  was  removed 
down  Main  street,  and  was  afterward  owned  and  occupied  by 
James  Brolly  as  a  store,  though  it  was  completely  remodeled  in 
1858. 

W.  E.  Brayton,  in  1822,  built  a  store  and  carried  on  the  mercan- 
tile business.  It  is  the  same  building  now  occupied  by  Dr.  H.  J. 
Millard  as  a  drug  store  on  Main  street.  It  is  said  Mr.  Brayton 
would  refuse  to  take  butter  into  the  store  at  ten  cents  per  pound 
and  pay  for  the  same  in  goods  at  a  handsome  profit,  there  being  no 
home  market  for  the  article  and  much  uncertainty  in  sending  it  to 
the  cities. 

Edward  Richmond,  in  1825,  erected  a  store  and  kept  it  on  the 
site  of  where  G.  &  C.  W.  Billings'  store  now  is  on  Main  street. 

Ezra  D.  Whitaker,  in  1825,  erected  the  store,  which  he  stil^ 
owns,  which  is  occupied  by  L.  Childs,  and  followed  merchandizing 
therein,  opposite  the  Berkshire  House. 

J.  Q.  Robinson  &  Son,  about  1827,  built  a  store  on  their  lot,  cor- 
ner of  ^Main  and  Marshall  streets,  and  carried  on  trade  for  many 
years.  They  had  previously  done  an  extensive  business  at  South 
Adams. 

The  tide  of  enterprise  was  now  beginning  to  flow  a  little  more 
strongly  in  this  part  of  the  town. 

About  1816  J.  Q.  Robinson,  Esq.,  then  extensively  engaged  in 
merchandizing  in  Adams,  opened  a  store  in  what  is  now  the  middle 
of  State  street,  between  the  Richmond  House  and  Martin  block. 
The  building  was  removed  to  Marshall  street  and  converted  into  a 
shoe  shop,  now  forming  a  barn  in  rear  of  B.  F.  Robinson's  house* 
Nehemiah  Allen,  afterward  Judge  Allen,  kept  this  store  as  a  clerk 
for  Mr.  Robinson,  about  one  year,  with  a  fair  stock  of  goods. 

In  1826,  Caleb  B.  Turner  built  and  occupied  a  brick  store  at  the 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  27 

corner  of  Eagle  and  Union  streets.  This  was  the  first  store  on 
Eagle  street,  and  was  then  the  best  built  one  in  the  village. 

From  1778,  when  Adams  was  first  incorporated,  to  1827,  nearly 
half  a  century,  all  the  stores  which  had  been  kept  in  the  village  at 
different  times  numbered  only  thirteen.  In  1825  there  were  only 
five  stores,  kept  by  the  following  persons  :  Dr.  James  Cummings, 
W.  E.  Brayton,  Edward  Richmond,  Ezra  D.  Whitaker  and 
Michael  Cheesbro. 

The  early  and  long-continued  scarcity  of  money  necessitated  a 
general  system  of  bartering.  The  tradesmen  and  farmers  went 
*^swap,  swap,  swapping,^'  everywhere  and  in  almost  everything. 
Most  of  the  circulation  was  silver  and  copper  coin,  and  an  old- 
fashioned  *'ninepence,"  now  so  rarely  seen,  but  then  one  of  the 
most  common  pieces,  looked  nearly  as  large  in  the  eyes  of  many 
persons  as  the  pewter  platters  from  whicli  they  ate  their  frugal 
meals.  Money  was  most  emphatically  a  ^^cash  article.^'  No  bank 
of  issue  was  in  operation  nearer  than  Troy  or  Northampton,  the 
first  bank  in  Berkshire  county,  the  Agricultural  of  Pittsfield,  not 
being  chartered  until  1818,  and  the  Greenfield  bank  not  until  1822. 
A  man  with  $25  in  his  pocket  was  looked  upon  as  a  citizen  glori- 
ously favored  by  the  goddess  of  fortune.  The  usual  resort  for 
many  years  of  those  who  were  compelled  to  raise  so  small  a  sum  as 
$10  for  immediate  use  was  to  sell  a  promissory  note  to  one  of  their 
more  wealthy  neighbors  at  Williamstown.  I'here  were  no  capital- 
ists here.  Every  man  was  actively  conducting  business  and  mak- 
ing each  dollar  of  his  profits  earn  him  another  dollar  as  quickly  as 
possible.  He  had  seldom  any  money  to  lend,  or  rather  he  consid- 
ered it  more  advantageous  to  invest  his  small  funds  in  his  own 
business  than  to  loan  the  same  to  others,  and  was  therefore  apt  to 
be  '^short.'^  Whether  or  not  it  is  creditable  to  own  up  to  such 
tight  squeezes,  we  are  stating  nothing  but^what  our  old  residents 
will  recognize  as  facts.  They  deserve  to  be  told  for  the  benefit  of 
many  of  the  present  day,  who,  as  they  scatter  change  and  display 
bank  notes  with  a  lavish  hand,  seem  apparently  to  have  not  the 
slightest  appreciation  of  the  toils,  anxiety  and  self-denial  that 
weighed  down  the  lives  of  the  early  settlers. 

Capt.  Edward  Richmond  came  to  this  village  in  the  year  1803. 
Only  two  stores  were  then  kept  here,  one  by  Marshall  Jones,  on  the 
hill  west  of  Main  street  bridge,  and  the  other  by  Dr.  Jas.  Cummings, 
in  a  building  he  had  just  erected  on  the  site  of  where  Dr.  H.  J. 
Millard's  drug  store  now  is. 

English  calicos  were  sold  at  50  to  75  cents  per  yard  ;  Bohea  tea, 
75  cents  per  pound  ;  molasses,  67  to  75  cents  per  gallon  ;  cut  nails, 


28  HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

12  1-2  to  17  cents  per  pound.  Calicos  were  sold  at  an  earlier  date, 
also  during  the  war  of  1812  and  1815,  when  importation  was 
stopped,  for  $1  per  yard,  the  quality  not  being  superior  to  10  cent 
goods  of  the  present  day.  As  late  as  1825,  English  calicos  sold 
from  30  to  42  cents  per  yard.  Only  six  yards  of  goods  were  re- 
quired in  those  days  to  make  a  lady^'s  dress. 

In  1803,  and  for  a  number  of  years  after,  the  wages  of  a  farm 
laborer  were  180  to  $100  per  year.  Mechanics'  wages,  including 
board,  II  per  day.  The  ten  hour  system  was  not  in  vogue  in 
those  days,  and  carpenters  were  obliged  to  work  during  the  long 
summer  days  from  as  early  in  the  morning  as  they  could  see  the 
head  of  a  hammer Aintil  as  late  at  night  as  they  could  see  the  head 
of  a  nail. 

Corn  and  rye  sold  from  42  to  50  cents  per  bushel ;  oats  from  20 
to  25  ;  pork  from  $3.a0  to  $4;  beef,  $2.50  to  $4  per  cwt. ;  prime 
cows,  in  spring,  115  to  ^20  ;  the  best  horses,  $80.  Mountain  land 
adjacent  to  the  village  was  not  salable  ;  $1  per  acre  was  the  highest 
price  asked.  About  the  year  1828  or  '30,  William  Bradford  bought 
.200  acres  of  valuable  wood  land  on  Bald,  mountain,  northwest  of 
the  village,  for  $1  per  acre- 
There  were  but  few  owners  of  real  estate  in  the  early  settlement 
of  the  village,  and  no  particular  inducement  for  speculation  either 
in  the  fertility  of  the  soil  or  the  rapid  development  of  business. 
This  was  a  narrow  field  for  speculators  or  trading  men.  The 
scarcity  of  cash  made  swapping,  bartering  or  credit  necessary  in 
almost  every  kind  of  large  transaction,  and  when  real  estate 
•changed  hands,  it  was  generally  by  bargains  of  the  above  charac- 
ter. As  an  illustration  of  this  Yankee  characteristic  may  be  men- 
tioned George  Whitman,  an  excellent  citizen,  a  kind  neighbor, 
and  a  man  of  honor  and  integrity  in  his  dealings.  He  was  one  of 
our  most  conspicuous  ^'trading  men."  Being  of  rather  infirm 
bodily  health,  he  had  to  rely  on  his  brains  rather  than  his  muscles 
for  a  livelihood.  His  widow  related  the  following  curious  facts 
.relative  to  her  husband's  buying,  selling  and  oftimes  removing  : 

From  1807  to  1829  he  owned  eleven  different  dwellings  and  lots, 
and  removed  fifteen  timas.  Sometimes  she  would  move  into  a 
liouse,  and  before  getting  her  gjoods  in  and  fairly  unpacked  and 
settled  her  husband  would  make  another  trade,  and  the  summons 
would  come  to  remove  again  I  Mr.  Whitman  owned  at  various 
times  four  farms,  the  entire  lot  of  land  now  forming  the  Union, 
large  lots  of  land  in  Clarksburg  and  Florida.  He  traded  a  farm 
for  the  Mansion  House  in  Williamstown,  traded  that  for  a  saw  mill 
iind  land,  and  the  last  trade  before  his  decease  was  for  the  valuable 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  29 

farm  and  quarry  adjoining  this  village  on  the  southwest,  and  now- 
owned  by  Ivory  Witt. 

It  is  believed  that  up  to  the  year  1825  no  man  settled  here  with 
as  much  as  $2000  cash  capital ;  consequently! the  growth  of  the 
place  was  exceedingly  slow,  and  even  that  slow  growth  was  inter- 
fered with  by  the  fluctuating  tariff  policy  of  the  federal  govern- 
ment, which  knocked  about  our  early  manufacturing  enterprises 
like  shuttlecocks. 

WOOL   CARDING,    CLOTH   FULLINO   ANDJdRESSING. 

About  the  year  1798-9,  the  first  cloth  dressing  was  done  in 
North  Adams  by  one  Eoger  Wing  from  Connecticut.  The  fulling 
mill  was  put  into  Captain  Colgrove's  grist  mill,  and  the  finishing 
was  done  in  a  small  building  near  where  Burlingame  &  Darby's 
store  now  is.  About  1801  a  carding  machine  was  also  put  into 
Captain  Colgrove's  grist  mill. 

In  1801  David  Estes,  having  constructed  a  dam  across  the  north 
branch,  erected  the  first  buildings  in  town  for  carding  wool  and 
dressing  cloth.  They  stood  on  the  site  of  the  Estes  factory. 
Roger  Wing  carried  on  the  clothier's  business  successfully  in  the 
above  named  buildings  five  or  six  years.  He  also  kept  a  hotel  in 
the  old  portion  of  the  ^^Blaek  tavern.'*  About  1804  he  sold  the 
tavern  stand  to  Bethuel  Finney,  Esq.,  and  removed  with  his 
clothier's  machinery  to  Granville,  N.  Y. 

In  1804  Captain  J.  Colgrove,  like  a  true  man  of  business,  not 
liking  to  see  a  vacancy  unimproved,  erected,  for  the  purpose  of 
w^ool  carding,  cloth  fulling  and  dressing,  a  two-story  building — now 
standing  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hoosac  river,  the  first  dwelling 
north  of  Hodges'  grist  mill.  He  procured  new  machinery,  and  a 
large  share  of  Wing's  custom  flowed  to  the  establishment.  About 
half  of  each  season,  from  May  to  November,  was  devoted  to  card- 
ing * 'rolls"  for  the  active,  strong-armed  housewives  to  spin,  while 
in  the  remainder,  or  winter  months  of  the  year,  the  cloth  dressing 
was  fully  performed.  The  business  was  carried  on  by  Captain 
Colgrove  for  fifteen  years  at  this  mill.  He  was  subjected  to  the 
disadvantage  of  no  previous  knowledge  of  the  business.  He  also 
had  an  untiring,  close-calculating  competitor  in  David  Estes. 


EARLY  INDUSTRIES. 

CHAPTER  Y. 


BLACKSMITH    SHOPS. 

IN  1794  Joseph  Darby  built  a  blacksmith  shop  and  set  u])  a 
trip-hammer,  probably  the  first  in  North  Adams.  It  was  lo- 
cated on  the  notch  road,  above  Daniel  Wells'  residence,  about  two 
rods  from  the  stream  that  flows  down  the  notch.  Mr.  Darby  made 
scythes,  saws,  axes,  hoes,  steelyards,  etc.  The  iron  was  brought 
from  Sailsbury,  Conn.  Emigrant  parties  passed  through  here  fre- 
quently bound  for  the  "  Great  West,"  which  was  then  western  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Darby  did  many  jobs  for  them  in  iron  work,  such 
as  traps,  cow  bells,  etc.,  besides  repairing  their  vehicles  and  shoe- 
ing their  horses.  It  was  then  a  more  dreadful  undertaking  to 
move  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  than  it  now  is  to  move  to  the 
shores  of  the  Pacific.  Adventurous  men,  who  in  those  days  went 
300  or  400  miles  into  the  wilderness  to  settle,  where  war  parties  of 
Indians  still  roamed,  were  regarded  with  the  same  admiration  for 
their  bravery  that  Captain  John  Brown  and  the  heroes  of  freedom 
were  who  emigrated  to  Kansas  to  save  that  lovely  territory  from 
the  foul  curse  of  slavery. 

Captain  Colgrove  built  the  first  blacksmith  shop  within  our  vil- 
lage limits  in  1795.  It  stood  near  the  corner  of  Pearl  and  Main 
streets. 

David  Darling  built  the  second  blacksmith  shop  in  1802,  where 
the  Wilson  House  now  stands.  Mr.  Darling  was  a  kind  neighbor, 
a  man  of  decision,  with  a  strong  sense  of  justice,  though  plain  and 
unassuming  in  his  ways.  On  a  certain  occasion,  the  use  of  the  vil- 
lage church  having  been  denied  by  two  or  three  of  its  self-consti- 
tuted guardians  to  a  Universalist  preacher,  though  it  was  built  by 
the  contributions  of  men  of  different  religious  beliefs,  Mr.  Darling 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  31 

(who  kept  the  key)  declared  tl^at  it  was  the  agreement  and  under- 
standing that  the  church  should  be  opened  to  any  respectable 
preacher  whom  the  people  ^wished  to  hear,  when  not  occupied  by 
the  Baptist  society,  and  hq  would  open  it  to  the  Universalist.  He 
was  as  good  as  his  w^ord,  and  the  Word  according  to  Universalism 
was  preached  perhaps  for  the  first  time  in  our  village. 

Joseph  Darby,  having  .previously  moved  to  this  village,  in  1810 
built  the  third  shop,  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Eagle  streets, 
which  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  Baptist  church.  Mr.  Darby 
sold  this  stand  to  George  Darling,  who  carried  on  ah  extensive 
business  until  his  death,  in  1839. 

CARPENTER   SHOPS. 

During  the  early  years  of  this  village  no  carpenter  shops  existed. 
The  most  imp':*rtant  class  of  mechanics  worked  by  the  day  or 
month,  as  they  now  do.  They  performed  their  labor  either  in  the 
building  which  was  being  erected  or  in  a  shed  near  by.  Carpenters 
and  joiners'  labor  was  then  much  more  laborious  than  at  present, 
as  the  tools  >ere  of  English  make,  coarse  and  clumsy,  and  only  a 
few  of  them.  s'The  pod  auger  and  gouge  were  used,  the  screw 
auger  not  having  been  invented.  Circular  saws,  planing  and  mor- 
tising mac^hlnes  and  all  other  contrivances  for  saving  the  human 
muscle  and  rushing  jobs  through  were  then  unknown. 

Gideon;  Mixer  in  1805  made  a  venture  and  built  an  addition  to 
his  house,  then  standing  near  where  Mrs.  Frank  Colgrove  resides, 
on  Churcli  street.  This  addition  Mr.  Mixer  opened  as  the  first 
regular  carpenter  shop  in  North  Adams. 

Jonathan  Torrey,  in  1809,  settled  here  and  opened  a  carpenter 
shop,  which  he  carried  on  for  years. 

Cyrus  Burlingame,  father  of  S.  Burlingame,  commenced  busi- 
ness in  the  basement  of  the  old  brick  factory  in  1812.  He  after- 
ward occupied  a  part  of  Captain  Colgrove's  grist  mill. 

Esek  Paine,  about  the  year  1814,  carried  on  carpentering  here. 

Stukeley  Weaver,  about  the  year  1815,  established  himself  as  a 
carpenter  in  a  building  near  the  grist  mill  of  Captain  Colgrove. 

COOPER   SHOPS. 

Cooperage  must  have  become  an  extensive  pursuit  here  as  early 
as  1815.  When  orchards  had  multiplied  and  bore  abundantly 
cider  was  pressed  on  almost  every  farm,  and  became  the  common 
beverage  of  almost  everybody.  Plenty  of  pine  and  oak  lumber  for 
barrel,  c^sk,  tub  and  firkin  staves  then  grew  near  the  village.  All 
the  labor  was  done  by  hand. 

Peter  Carver  made  the  first  drive  in  the  hoop  line  by  commenc- 


32  HISTORY    OF    NORTH     ADAMS. 

ing  cooperage,  about  the  year  1800,  in  a  small  building  near  where 
the  American  House  now  stands  on  Main  street. 

Paul  Stafford  opened  a  cooper  shop  about  1803. 

Martin  Salisbury,  in  1809,  opened  a  shop  near  Ivory  Witt's,  on 
State  street. 

Several  other  shops  were  established  prior  to  1820.  About  that 
year  Joel  Fosket  had  a  shop  on  Eagle  street,  which  was  afterward 
removed  to  Main  street. 

BRICK    YARDS. 

Among  the  men  who  were  implicated  in  Shay's  rebellion,  in 
1786-7,  we  find  recorded  the  name  of  * 'George  Thresher,  brick- 
maker. '^  He  was  pardoned  and  allowed  to  resume  his  business 
having  failed  in  threshing  the  state  government.  It  cannot  be 
told  whether  he  carried  on  business  in  the  north  or  south  village. 
At  the  March  meeting  in  1792,  Jonathan  Remington  was  chosen 
''^sealer  of  brick  moulds''  for  the  town  of  Adams,  showing  that 
brick  were  then  manufactured  to  a  sufficient  amount  to  require 
such  an  officer.  The  business  was  also  carried  on  near  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Harrison,  as  many  tokens  of  that  branch  of  industry  have 
been  found  there. 

About  the  year  1800  Baker  Jones  established  a  brick  yard  just 
to  the  north  and  east  of  where  the  Freeman  Print  Works  now 
stand.  The  brick  for  the  old  factory  on  Marshall  street  were 
made  here.  It  was  carried  on  by  various  individuals  until  the 
year  1825,  when  Benjamin  F.  Hathaway  and  Evenel  Estes  assumed 
the  management  of  the  yard.  After  a  few  years  they  were  succeed- 
ed by  Benjamin  and  James  Hathaway,  who  were  in  turn  succeeded 
by  Benjamin  Franklin  Hathaway,  who  run  the  yard  alone  for  a 
number  of  years.  In  1859  he  sold  out  to  the  firm  of  Homer  & 
Hall,  who  conducted  the  yard  until  1861,  when  their  lease  ran  out 
and  the  property  reverted  to  the  owner.  After  the  expiration 
of  the  lease  in  '61  the  sheds  were  destroyed  and  a  building  which 
stood  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  property  was  moved  down  Union 
street  and  converted  into  a  tenement,  which  is  laid  down  as  32 
Union  street. 

SADDLE   AND   HARNESS   MAKERS. 

Henry  Evans  established  himself  here  in  the  above  business 
about  the  year  1800.  His  shop  was  on  the  east  side  of  Eagle 
street,  near  the  site  of  Cody  &  Carpenter's  warehouse. 

James  Damon,  about  the  year  1810,  opened  a  shop  on  Main 
street,  and  afterward  removed  to  Eagle  street. 

Levi  W.  Sterns,  about  1826,  opened  a  shop  on  Main  street. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  33 

WAGON   AND   SLEIGH    MAKERS. 

Thomas  Dickinson  opened  the  first  regular  wagon  shop  in  1798, 
about  twenty  rods  north  of  the  Eagle  bridge. 

Samuel  Brown  commenced  wagon  making  about  1808  on  Eagle 
street.  In  1812  he  built  a  shop  on  Centre  street,  which  was  after- 
ward altered  into  a  dwelling. 

Dudley  Loveland  occupied  a  dwelling  and  had  a  wagon  shop  oa 
the  site  of  J.  H.  Adams'  block,  Main  street. 

From  the  best  information  that  can  be  obtained  it  appears  that, 
no  kind  of  wagon  springs  were  in  use  in  this  town  until  the  year 
1808,  when  Shubael  Wilmarth,  Sr.,  iiurchased  of  the  New  Lebanon. 
Shakers  a  two-horse  pleasure  wagon,  paying  for  it  $84,  having  what 
was  termed  * '^spring  seats."  These  springs  were  of  the  simplest 
possible  construction,  being  two  pieces  of  ash  timber,  one  on  each, 
side,  bolted  to  a  bed-piece  in  the  wagon  box.  They  run  up  at  an 
angle  of  about  30  degrees,  the  seat  being  placed  on  them.  Tho 
spring  was  imparted  by  the  elasticity  of  the  timber,  and  two  per- 
sons found  them  easier  riding  than  one.  Similar  springs  are  seea 
at  this  day  on  team  wagons,  but  they  are  not  considered  ^'first- 
class,"  as  they  were  eighty  years  ago. 

CABINET   makers'   SHOPS. 

The  first  cabinet  maker's  shop  was  established  about  1788  by  a 
Mr.  Veazie  from  Boston,  and  was  located  where  the  schoolhouse 
stands  in  the  Braytonville  district. 

Christopher  Penniman  had  a  shop  near  the  present  residence  of 
Mrs.  Bradford  Harrison. 

About  1800  Mr.  Isbell  had  a  shop  within  the  village  limits. 

In  1806  Christopher  Penniman  had  a  shop  and  kept  the  turnpike 
gate,  located  about  at  the  entrance  to  the  fair  grounds. 

In  1824  Daniel  Remington  opened  a  shop  in  a  small  building 
on  the  south  side  of  Main  street,  near  the  corner  of  Pearl. 

In  1827  John  Krigger  started  a  shop  on  the  north  side  of  Main 
street,  nearly  opposite  the  one  above  mentioned. 

In  1830  Ezra  Ingraham  and  William  Shattuck  opened  a  shop  on 
Eagle  street.  Mr.  Shattuck  sold  out  and  moved  to  Williamstown. 
E.  Ingraham,  and  the  firm  of  Ingraham,  Isbell  &  Dewey  afterward 
conducted  the  business.  This  shop  was  in  a  wooden  building,  now 
standing,  just  south  of  the  Catholic  church. 

In  1847  Cyrus  P.  Isbell  located  on  Eagle  street,  where  his  indus- 
try and  accommodating  spirit  secured  him  a  liberal  patronage. 

D.  S.  «&;  J.  H.  Adams  succeeded  E.  Ingraham  in  1852  at  the 
stand  on  the  corner  of  Eagle  and  Morth  Church  streets.     Being 


34  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

enterprising  and  trustworthy  young  men,  their  business  increased, 
and  they  became  favorably  known  throughout  this  region,  especial- 
ly as  undertakers.  They  continued  the  partnership  until  the 
death  of  D.  S.  Adams,  when  J.  H.  bought  his  brother's  interest- 
and  has  since  conducted  the  business  alone. 

WATER   AVORKS,    PUMPS    AND    LEAD    PIPE. 

Oliver  Parker,  in  1808,  began  pump  making  and  the  boring  and 
laying  of  logs  for  water  works.  His  shop  was  on  the  site  of  the 
present  residence  of  A.  H.  Potter,  No.  87  Eagle  street.  The 
manufacture  of  lead  pipe  began  here  about  1823.  Up  to  1859-60 
Oliver  Parker  still  continued  the  business  on  Brooklyn  street,  and 
had  a  machine  for  making  lead  pipe.  Being  a  reading  man,  and 
of  mechanical  skill,  he  was  well  posted  on  all  matters  pertaining  to 
hydraulic  uses.  He  was  as  ready  to  lay  a  pipe  as  to  make  it,  solely 
ior  the  public  benefit,  however. 

STONE   CUTTING   AND   MARBLE   MANUFACTURE. 

All  the  stone  cutting  done  here  in  early  years  was  for  grave- 
stones and  a  few  facings  of  underpinnings,  mantel  pieces,  fire  jams 
and  hearthstones  for  the  better  class  of  dwellings.  All  tenements 
and  stores  then  had  fireplaces,  stoves  being  almost  unknown.  The 
-stone  cutting  of  olden  times  was  done  in  rather  a  coarse,  rude 
ananner,  by  inexperienced  men,  who  were  employed  occasionally. 

About  1810  Solomon  Sherman,  a  good  workman,  commenced 
the  business  of  stone  cutting  here  for  home  trade.  He  was  suc- 
<;eeded  by  Manson  Sherman. 

About  1830  Elijah  Pike,  an  ingenious  workman,  followed  this 
calling.  As  the  quality  of  North  Adams  marble  became  known  a 
wider  market  was  secured,  and  in  1835  Mr.  Pike  was  aided  with 
capital  by  Dr.  E.  S.  Hawks,  and  commenced  the  first  regular  opera, 
tions  at  the  quarry  below  the  natural  bridge. 

In  1848  the  North  Adams  Marble  and  Lime  Company  was  incor- 
porated with  a  capital  of  175,000,  and  it  continued  for  a  number 
of  years,  turning  out  a  large  amount  of  building  stone,  chimney 
pieces,  window  caps,  sills,  etc.,  for  the  New  York  and  western 
markets.     Mr,  L,  B.  Graves  was  the  resident  partner. 

D.  R.  Allen  and  A.  B.  Hosley  commenced  the  marble  business 
at  the  quarry  in  April,  1855.  They  opened  a  shop  on  Eagle  street, 
north  of  River,  in  the  spring  of  1856,  and  acquired  an  excellent 
reputation. 

HAT   MANUFACTURERS   AND   HAT   STORES. 

Charles  Peck  and  Henry  Crittenden  commenced  the  business  of 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  35 

maimfactiiring  hats  about  the  year  1804  in  a  building  demolished 
about  the  year  1855,  and  which  was  located  near  the  residence  of 
H.  Clay  Bliss,  No,  69  Eagle  street.  Hat  making  was  there  carried  on 
quite  extensively  for  many  years,  and  the  product  was  retailed,  fur- 
nished to  order,  or  carried  to  Troy  and  Albany  to  be  disposed  of  to 
country  merchants.  Peck  &  Crittenden  were  afterward  succeeded 
by  Alvin  Crittenden  and  Samuel  G.  Noyes. 

Enoch  Chase  purchased  the  premises  and  succeeded  the  above 
named  gentlemen  in  the  same  business  about  1816.  He  retailed 
hats  and  made  them  to  order  for  many  years,  until  the  new  inven- 
tions and  cheaper  methods  of  manufacture  in  the  large  cities  made 
competition  with  them  out  of  the  question. 

About  1816  Solomon  Bulkley  made  and  sold  hats  in  a  building 
on  Main  street. 

The  first  store  for  the  sale  of  hats  in  North  Adams  was  opened 
by  D.  C.  Corey,  about  1830,  in  a  small  building  near  the  residence 
of  E.  D.  Whitaker,  No.  52  Main  street. 

William  Ferguson  built  and  opened  a  hat  store  on  Eagle  street, 
about  1835,  in  a  building,  since  burned,  which  stood  on  the  lot 
adjoining  E.  Ingraham's  flour  store,  or  about  on  the  site  of  the 
building  occupied  by  Tower  &  Porter  at  No.  20  Eagle  street. 

Theodore  Hastings,  in  1840,  commenced  the  hat,  cap  and  fur 
trade  in  the  building  now  standing  on  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Bank  streets,  known  as  the  stone  ofRce.  He  continued  the  busi- 
ness in  town  until  his  death. 

TAILOR   SHOPS. 

The  first  regular  tailor  in  North  Adams  was  a  Mr.  Thomas,  a 
Welchman. 

Spaulding  Harvey  opened  a  tailor's  shop  about  1815. 

In  1817  James  Estes  opened  a  shop  on  Main  street,  and  carried 
on  an  extensive  business. 

About  18'47  Alexander  F.  Ashley  had  a  shop  in  the  small  front 
part  attached  to  the  Widow  Bradford's  dwelling  on  Main  street, 
now  the  site  of  Bradford's  block. 

In  1828  Levi  Randall  opened  a  tailor's  shop  in  the  second  story 
of  a  store  on  Main  street,  occupying  the  present  site  of  the  Wilson 
House, 

FORGE   FOE   MAKING   WROUGHT   IRON. 

About  1799  Dickinson  &  Brown  erected  a  forge  for  making 
wrought  iron  from  the  ore.  This  forge  was  built  up  the  stream 
from  Eagle  street  bridge,  about  half  way  between  that  and  Union 
street  bridge.     Benjamin  Sibley,   one  of  the  early  settlers  of  the 


36  HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

village,  who  was  quite  a  trading  man  in  real  estate,  and  one  of  the 
original  owners  and  builders  of  the  Eagle  factory,  was  in  some 
way  connected  with  the  early  operations  of  this  forge.  The  ore 
was  procured  from  Cheshire,  Adams,  some  from  Stamford,  and 
from  various  other  places.  It  made  a  good  quality  of  iron,  but 
owing  to  some  cause — perhaps  the  cost  of  transporting  the  raw  ma- 
terial— -it  did  not  pay  very  well. 

At  a  later  period,  about  the  vear  1801  to  1804,  during  the  opera- 
tion of  the  forge  by  Mr.  Brown,  he  used  some  ore,  mixing  it  with 
pig  iron  brought  from  Salisbury,  Ct.,  and  turned  out  excellent 
wrought  iron.  This  was  called  refining.  The  business  was  super- 
intended by  Edward  Witherell,  practical  iron-  maker.  The 
wrought  iron  business  at  this  time  paid  well,  from  the  fact  that  the 
product  commanded  $140  per  ton.  Subsequently  these  works 
passed  into  the  hands  of  a  Mr.  Sprague,  who  undertook  to  make 
iron  from  the  ore ;  but  owing  either  to  the  poor  quality  of  the 
material,  which  was  hauled  in  the  winter,  or  a  decline  in  the  price 
of  the  product,  or  some  depressing  cause,  it  entirely  failed. 

The  town  in  its  history  can  boast  of  having  had  three  trip-ham- 
mer shops.  The  first  opened  was  that  of  Joseph  Darby's,  on  the 
road  to  the  notch,  and  which  has  been  described  on  a  previous 
page  of  this  work.  The  next  was  erected  about  the  year  1800,  on 
the  site  of  what  was  afterward  the  Cupola  furnace,  on  or  near  the 
present  site  of  the  Freeman  Print  Works.  About  1828  Giles 
Tinker  had  a  trip-hammer  shop  near  his  machine  shop,  occupying 
the  present  site  of  Hodges'  grist  mill. 

FIRST   CUPOLA   FURNACE. 

About  1817  Loring  Darby  of  this  village  and  Buel  Norton  of 
Bennington  fitted  up  for  a  cupola  furnace  the  building  which  had 
previously  been  erected  for  a  trip-hammer  shop,  on  or  near  the 
site  of  the  Freeman  Print  Works.  The  building  was  afterward 
used  in  connection  with  the  print  works  under  Caleb  Turner. 

Darby  &  Norton  made  iron  castings  for  mill  gearing  and 
machinery,  and  sold  the  same  from  six  to  eight  cents  per  pound. 
Iron  machinery  was  then  coming  into  more  general  use,  from  the 
increased  skill  in  its  construction  and  the  development  of  cotton 
and  woolen  manufacturing,  as  confidence  began  to  revive  from  the 
effects  of  the  then  late  war  with  Great  Britain, 
were  made  of  foreign  goods  in  order  to  break  down  our  infant 
efforts  at  home  manufacture.  In  consequence  of  this  American 
industry  w^s  paralyzed  to  some  extent  for  a  certain  period. 

But  very  few  stoves  were  then  in  use    or  even  manufactured, 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  37 

and  these  were  principally  cooking  stoves  of  inconvenient  and 
clumsy  shape.  Some  kinds  were  made  at  the  cupola  furnace  of 
Darby  &  Norton,  such  as  box  stoves  and  cooking  stoves,  nearly 
square,  with  two  ovens,  one  above  the  other,  and  boiler  holes  on 
top.  The  plates  were  very  thick,  and  held  together  by  rods  and 
nuts.  This  cupola  furnace,  after  being  in  operation  a  short  time, 
stopped- — it  did  not  pay.  Scarcely  any  branch  of  manufacturing 
was  permanently  profitable  then.  Capital,  labor-saving  machinery 
and  ease  of  transportation  were  all  lacking,  and  the  factory  kings 
of  Great  Britain  spared  no  effort  to  crush  our  republican  enter- 
prises. They  were  aided  in  this  scheme  by  narrow-minded  legis- 
lators, as  they  have  often  been  in  more  recent  days. 

About  18^6  Otis  Hodge,  Jr.,  purchased  the  above  premises,  and, 
in  connection  with  William  E.  Brayton,  carried  on  an  extensive 
business  for  some  two  years  in  the  manufacture  of  machine  and 
plow  castings — the  latter  of  which  was  rapidly  coming  into  use. 
The  aggregate  value  of  the  castings  made  the  last  year  was  about 
$5000.     The  real  estate  was  soon  purchased  by  Caleb  B.  Turner. 

The  first  regular  machine  shop  in  this  village,  and  probably  the 
first  in  the  county,  was  started  by  Giles  Tinker  in  1811,  in  a  por- 
tion of  what  was  known  as  the  '^old  yellow  building,^'  which  stood 
at  about  the  centre  of  the  Davenport  block,  on  the  south  side  of 
Main  street.  This  building  was  enlarged  by  Mr.  Tinker  three  dif- 
ferent times.  Here  all  the  machinery  for  the  old  brick  factory 
was  made.  Mr.  Tinker  continued  the  business  for  several  years  in 
this  shop,  doing  his  own  forging  and  brass  casting.  Most  of  th6 
machinery  was  of  wood,  and  the  iron  work  was  wrought  instead  of 
cast.  Loring  Darby  was  foreman  of  the  shop  for  many  years.  In 
1825  the  business  had  become  so  extended  and  the  need  of  water 
so  great  that  Mr.  Tinker  purchased  of  Captain  Colgrove  a  lot  and 
mill  privilege  near  the  Main  street  bridge.  In  1828  Mr.  Tinker 
erected  a  brick  building  for  preparing  his  own  castings.  It  stood 
east  of  and  near  his  machine  shop,  on  the  present  site  of  Hodges' 
grist  mill. 

After  Mr.  Tinker's  decease,  in  1832,  Alanson  Cady  and  Loring 
Darby,  both  practical  machinists,  hired  the  furnace  and  machine 
shop  and  carried  on  the  same.  Afterwards  Mr.  Cady  rented  the 
furnace  alone,  and  made  castings.  It  was  also  hired  and  run  four 
years  by  William  Ilodgkins.  Finally  the  whole  property  came  into 
the  hands  of  James  E.  Marshall.  In  1847  the  furnace  building 
was  taken  down. 

Caleb  B.  Turner  (afterward  Turner  &  Laflin)  in  1831  com- 
menced a  machine  shop  in  the  building  known  as  the  Gould  mill. 


38  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

which  was  built  and  designed  for  a  cotton  mill,  located  on  the  site 
of  Dickinson  &  Brown^s  forge,  previously  mentioned.  The  first 
considerable  lot  of  machinery  built  was  for  the  Slater  mill  at  the 
Union,  then  being  built  by  Hodges,  Sanford  &  Co.,  and  which 
forms  the  east  end  of  the  Eclipse  mill.  The  contract  to  build  this 
machinery  by  the  job  was  taken  of  C.  B.  Turner  by  William  Hall 
and  Samuel  Wilson.  Mr.  Hall  was  an  experienced  and  very  in- 
genious iron  worker,  having  recently  come  from  Patterson,  N.  J., 
and  he  introduced  many  important  improvements.  S.  Wilson  of 
Adams  executed  the  wood  work.  Large  quantities  of  machinery 
was  turned  out,  until  in  1835  the  Gould  mill  was  again  devoted  to 
manufacturing.  About  this  time  most  manufacturers  found  it  ad- 
vantageous to  connect  a  repair  shop  with  their  mills,  and  some  of 
them  constructed  portions  of  their  own  machinery. 

In  the  fall  of  1847  James  Hunter  bought  the  patterns,  tools, 
etc.,  of  the  foundry  of  Mason  B.  Green,  then  located  in  front  of 
the  Phoenix  mill.  In  the  spring  of  1848  David  Temple  and  Abel 
Wetherbee  bought  an  interest,  and  the  business  was  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  James  Hunter  &  Co.  During  the  summer 
of  that  year  they  started,  in  connection  with  this  foundry  at 
North  Adams,  another  at  Adams.  During  the  winter  of  1848-9 
Mr.  Temple  withdrew  from  the  firm,  taking  the  Adams  property. 

In  1849  James  Hunter  and  Abel  Wetherbee  purchased  the  house 
and  lot  near  Main  street  bridge.  The  land  where  the  furnace  now 
stands  was  then  a  low  marsh  ;  they  filled  it  up  and  erected  a 
foundry  building  76x40  feet  and  two  stories  high.  The  whole  out- 
lay was  about  $3500.  Mr.  Wetherbee  sold  his  interest  the  same 
year  to  Daniel  and  Stillman  M.  Thayer.  In  1850  Joseph  D.  Clark 
purchased  a  part  of  James  Hunter^s  interest,  and  the  firm  was 
known  as  Hunter,  Thayer  &  Co.  They  run  a  grist  mill  for  a 
short  time,  then  displaced  it,  putting  in  a  planing  machine  and 
made  boxes.  In  1855  the  planing  machine  was  removed,  in  order 
that  the  machine  shop  might  be  started.  This  was  started  on  a 
small  scale,  having  only  one  engine  and  one  drilling  lathe.  In  the 
same  year,  in  connection  with  the  furnace  and  other  business,  they 
erected  a  store  for  the  sale  of  merchandise,  and  kept  also  a  general 
assortment  of  bar  iron,  steel,  etc.  In  1856  Daniel  Thayer  sold  his 
interest  to  the  other  partners.  In  1857  J.  D.  Clark  and  S.  M. 
Thayer  sold  their  interest  to  James  E.  Hunter  and  Martin  C. 
Jewett.     The  firm  became  James  Hunter  &  Co. 

The  business  has  gradually  increased  until,  in  1885,  it  is  the 
largest  foundry  in  the  county,  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the  state, 
the  firm  being  known  as  James  Hunter  &  Son. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  39^ 

In  1847  AVilliam  Hodgkins  purchased  1 1-2  acres  of  land  and 
erected  a  brick  building  near  the  present  site  of  the  Troy  &  Green- 
field freight  house,  on  State  street.  Machine  castings  and  ploughs 
were  manufactured.  Mr.  Hodgkins  carried  on  business  here  about 
five  years,  when  a  mortgage  which  was  on  the  property  was  fore- 
closed and  he  was  obliged  to  retire.  When  the  Troy  &  Boston 
Railroad  run  in  here,  about  1859,  they  utilized  this  building  as  an 
engine  house,  and  it  continued  to  be  used  as  such  until  1872,  when. 
it  was  demolished. 


ROADS  AND  STREETS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ONE  of  the  oldest  roads  in  the  county  is  that  which  now  comes 
over  Florida  mountain,  dow^n  Church  Hill,  forming  our  Main 
street  and  on  to  Willianistown.  This  must  have  been  a  trail  or 
road  previous  to  the  year  1744,  as  Fort  Massachusetts  was  built  in 
that  year,  and  a  road  of  some  kind  was  an  actual  necessity  to  the 
settlers.  In  the  grant  of  200  acres  of  land  given  Captain  Williams 
in  1750,  which  grant  included  the  fort,  one  stipulation  was  that 
he  shall  ''be  required  to  keep  an  open  highway  two  rods  wide,  on 
the  northerly  side  of  said  fort,  leading  towards  Albany.  In  1746 
Samuel  Rice  petitioned  for  a  grant  of  200  acres,  on  condition  that 
he  ''build  a  new  and  better  road  over  the  Hoosac  mountain." 
The  almost  insurmountable  difficulties  which  attended  the  making 
of  the  first  roads  in  this  town  have  already  been  alluded  to.  Such 
enormous  tree  stumps,  formidable  boulders,  rapid  running  streams 
and  up  and  down  hill  routes  were  enough  to  discourage  any  men 
excepting  those  who  did  not  know  of  such  a  word  as  "impossible." 
Most  of  the  roads  were  built  over  the  hills  instead  of  around  them 
for  the  reason  that  the  early  settlements  were  on  the  uplands  and 
the  roads  must  run  past  the  houses.  The  meadows  on  the  Hoosac 
river  were  frequently  overflowed  (especially  in  South  Adams  and 
Cheshire)  and  it  was  considered  unsafe  to  settle  near  the  stream. 
The  highways  were  therefore  built  and  maintained  with  heavy 
labors  and  expense,  running  as  they  did  on  unfavorable  routes. 
Stump  machines,  like  those  now  in  use  were  not  then  invented, 
though  some  of  the  ingenius  mechanics,  like  Capt.  Colgrove  and 
Charles  Peck  contrived  means  for  "snaking"  out  ugly  stumps, 
with  a  moderate  expenditure  of  muscular  strength  and  at  a  saving 
of  whisky  and  hard  work. 


HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  41 

At  the  first  regular  town  meeting  in  Adams,  March  8,  1779,  it 
was  voted  to  raise  100  pounds  to  make  and  repair  highways. 
Eight  persons  were  chosen  highway  surveyors,  and  they  acted  in 
districts, — the  village  from  Furnace  hill  to  the  top  of  Iloosac 
mountain  forming  one  district.  In  1780  the  highway  tax  was  120 
pounds  and  the  number  of  surveyors  was  increased  to  13  ;  in  1781 
the  tax  went  up  to  200  pounds.  In  1795,  the  roads  having  been 
built  to  a  convenient  extent,  the  tax  for  repairing  was  only  £160 
and  the  number  of  surveyors  was  15.  Among  them  was  Jeremiah 
Colegrove,  Sr.,  whose  name  now  appears  for  the  first  time  in  the 
town  records,  it  being  about  a  year  after  his  arrival  in  town.  He 
was  a  most  efficient,  practical  and  thorough  road  worker,  and 
possessed  the  faculty  of  inspiring  other  men  with  his  own  industry. 
In  1806  the  road  tax  had  risen  to  $1200,  or  nearly  four  times  as 
much  as  the  first  year.  This  sum  was  all  paid  in  labor  and  mater- 
ials. Eighty-three  cents  a  day  was  allowed  (in  1779  it  was  just 
half  as  much)  for  the  labor  of  a  man,  and  the  same  for  a  span  of 
horses  or  a  yoke  of  oxen.  The  town  records  contain  many  surveys 
of  the  roads,  some  in  almost  every  year.  July  1,  1782,  a  town 
meeting  was  held  for  the  special  purpose  of  considering  certain 
proposed  alterations  in  the  road.  In  1785,  no  less  than  twenty- 
one  surveyors  of  highways  were  elected,  showing  that  there  must 
have  been  an  uncommon  amount  of  road  making.  In  1786  the 
highway  surveyors  were  done  away  with,  for  the  town  **Voted 
that  the  Selectmen  See  to  the  Laying  out  the  money  Voted  on  the 
roads  to  the  best  Advantage." 

In  1794  the  main  roads  leading  into  and  out  of  the  village  wore 
the  same  as  now,  with  three  exceptions,  as  follows: 

First,  The  road  from  Eagle  street  through  the  Union  to  Clarks- 
burg, which  was  opened  as  far  as  the  Union  in  1832  and  continued 
to  Clarksburg  afterwards.  Messrs.  Burke,  Ingalls  and  Wells,  O. 
and  H.  Arnold  and  Gad  Smith  offered  to  build  the  upper  Union 
bridge  if  the  town  would  lay  the  road  up  there  and  build  the  lower 
bridge.  This  was  done  against  considerable  opposition,  some 
persons  saying  that  the  scheming  manufacturers  would  build  a 
mill  on  some  stream  and  then  request  the  town  to  make  roads  and 
bridges  for  them;  and  we  shall  all  be  ruined  if  such  policy  prevail. 

Second,  The  old  Clay  road  was  the  first  road  to  the  Union,  and 
must  have  been  opened  as  early  as  1780  to  reach  the  mills  of  Oliver 
Parker. 

Third,  State  street  was  not  laid  out  from  Main  south  to  Ivory 
Witt^s  residence  until  1833.  Previous  to  this  time  the  west  road 
to  the  South  village  passed  over  the  Main  street  bridge  and  along 


42  HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADA31S. 

the  track  of  the  Troy  &  Boston  railroad,  over  Hickey  hill,  joining- 
the  present  road  near  Mr.  Witt's. 

No  buildings  were  erected  on  the  old  road  south  of  the  bridge 
until  1825,  excepting  a  potashery  by  Marshall  Jones,  about  the 
year  1800,  about  where  George  Billings"  house  now  stands. 

The  main  travelled  road  north  from  the  village  in  1794  was  over 
Church  hill  and  out  on  to  Eagle  street  through  North  Church. 
No  street  was  then  open  from  Main  to  the  north  east  corner  of 
Centre,  comprising  what  is  now  the  business  portion  of  Eagle: 
street.  About  the  year  18U0,  Captain  Colgrove,  Avho  owned  the 
land,  commenced  using  it  as  a  private  way  for  lumber  hauling,., 
etc.,  and  in  tht  course  of  time  he  presented  it  to  the  town  for  a 
public  highway.  The  first  house  in  the  southern  part  of  Eagle 
street  was  built  in  1806  by  Joseph  Darby,  on  the  site  of  George 
Millard's  residence.  The  street  soared  aloft  at  such  a  rate  that  at 
one  time  she  rivaled  Main,  but  the  tide  turned  and  Main  is  and 
always  will  be  the  street  of  the  town. 

In  1806, — about  which  time  ..Iain  street  was  cleared  of  its  un- 
sightly stumps,  excepting  one  that  tormented  pedestrians  up  to 
1858, — the  whole  street  south  of  Main,  embracing  what  is  now 
Summer,  Quincy  and  Chestnut  streets,  was  a  pasture  very  much 
overgrown  with  brush  and  it  remained  exclusively  tilling  land 
from  1814  to  1834. 

In  1829  the  population  of  the  whole  town  of  Adams,  both 
villages,  was  about  2500;  in  1820  it  was  1836.  Of  North  Adams 
In  1829  the  probable  population  was  1000.  This  village  then  con- 
tained three  churches,  seven  factory  buildings,  seven  stores,  two 
taverns,  one  printing  office,  one  furnace,  two  blacksmith  shops^ 
one  tin  shop,  two  cabinet  makers  shops,  six  shoe  makers,  one 
jewelers  shop,  three  milliners,  two  tailors,  one  hatter,  two  saddlers 
and  harness  makers,  two  wagon  makers,  three  carpenters,  four 
physicians,  two  lawyers,  and  sundry  mechanics  without  shops.. 
The  number  of  dwelling  houses  all  told,  was  87,  occupied  by  105 
families. 

The  present  road  to  the  Union  from  Eagle  street  was  laid  out 
in  1832  and  in  1833  it  was  continued  through  the  Beaver  to  the 
Clarksburg  line.  Previous  to  1826  there  was  not  a  building  of 
any  kind  in  the  Union  proper.     It  was  a  stony,  brush  pasture. 

River  street  (including  Johnson's  ground)  was  laid  out  in  1832. 
The  first  building  erected  was  the  stone  factory  and  the  dwellings- 
adjoining  on  the  east. 

State  street  was  laid  out  in  1833,  Summer  street  in  1834,  most 
of  the  land  belonging  to  the  estate  of  Giles  Tinker,  Esq.,  and  had 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  43 

been  used  for  farming  purposes.  The  land  was  cut  up  into  one- 
fourth  acre  lots,  the  price  paid  being  from  $150  to  8200.  L.  W. 
Stearns  erected  the  first  house,  the  same  now  occupied  by  E.  R. 
Tinker,  which  has  been  twice  remodeled  since  it  was  first  ^erected. 

Quincy  street  was  laid  out  in  1842,  the  land  belonging  to  Cap- 
tain Richmond.  Lots  sold  from  $125  to  $150.  George  Millard 
built  the  first  house  in  1842,  the  same  one  greatly  enlarged  and 
improved,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Wm.  Burton, 

Hold  en  street  was  laid  out  in  1844,  the  land  formerly  belonging^ 
to  the  estate  of  Caleb  B.  Turner.  The  portion  lying  north  of 
(Center  street  was  purchased  by  Dr.  E.  S.  Hawks  and  John  Hoi- 
den,  in  1842.  Mrs.  W.  M.  Mitchell  built  the  first  house  in  1843, 
which  is  still  standing  on  the  north  west  corner  of  Centre  and 
Holden. 

Chestnut  street  was  laid  out  in  1849,  the  land  belonging  to  G. 
W.  Bradford.     The  lots  sold  from  $200  to  $300. 

Eagle  street,  from  Main  to  Center,  was  laid  out  in  1805,  having 
previous  to  this  been  used  as  a  lane. 

Center  street  in  1815,  having  also  been  used  as  a  lane  by  E. 
Estes,  from  his  residence  to  Eagle  street. 

Morris  street  in  1860,  although  it  had  previously  been  a  private 
way. 

EARLY    STAGE   LINES. 

The  first  stage  which  passed  through  this  village  for  the  con- 
veyance of  mails  and  passengers,  was  established  about  the  year 
1814,  by  a  Mr.  Phelps  of  Greenfield,  the  citizens  of  this  town 
subscribing  for  the  enterprise.  The  stage  ran  once  a  week  from 
Greenfield  and  Albany,  via  Williamstown,  Hancock  and  Sand 
Lake,  bringing  our  people  into  direct  communication  with  the  trade 
centers.  The  first  vehicle  used  was  an  uncovered  two  horse  wagon,, 
with  the  body  suspended  on  leather  springs. 

The  line  proving  successful  several  citizens  became  interested  in 
the  enterprise,  the  line  being  owned  in  sections  and  introducing- 
better  equipages.  Col.  Wm.  Waterman,  who  for  several  years, 
owned  and  kept  the  Berkshire  House,  became  a  large  owner  in 
the  line,  which  ere  long  made  two  and  finally  three  trips  a  week, 
by  which  it  was  intended  to  carry  travellers  through  from  Boston 
to  Albany  in  forty-eight  hours.  Many  changes  in  ownership 
occurred  up  to  the  year  1825,  and  in  1827  Arthur  Putney  of  this 
village  became  connected  for  a  short  time  with  the  line  over 
Hoosac  mountain.  Jenks  Kimbell  bought  Mr.  Putney's  interest 
and  became,  eventually,  the  most  extensive  and  successful  stage 
proprietor  and  livery  stable  keeper  in  Berkshire  county. 


SCHOOL  HOUSES  AND  CHURCHES. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  first  schoolhouse  opened  in  this  village,  according  to  recol- 
lections of  our  oldest  inhabitant,  was  kept  in  the  porch  of  the 
old  meeting  house  on  Church  hill,  about  the  year  1800.  Miss  Re- 
becca Morse  was  the  teacher.  As  the  building  was  not  then  under- 
pinned, the  tinkling  of  sheep  bells  was  often  heard  underneath, 
and  could  not  have  tended  to  promote  the  studious  habits  of  the 
pupils. 

A  school  was  afterwards  kept,  in  summer,  in  a  small  building 
on  Main  street,  where  Burlingame  &  Darby's  store  now  stands. 
The  few  inhabitants  probably  felt  unable  at  first  to  build  a  school- 
house  in  addition  to  the  heavy  burdens  they  were  obliged  to  bear, 
but  they  manifested  the  characteristic  New  England  love  of  educa- 
tion and  desire  to  give  their  children  advantages  for  instruction. 
This  was  made  apparent  by  the  erection  of  a  very  comfortable^ 
good-sized  frame  schoolhouse  in  1802,  on  the  brink  of  the  hill  west 
of  the  Baptist  church.  The  entire  village,  and  much  adjacent 
territory,  was  comprised  in  one  school  district  for  nearly  forty 
years  afterwards.  Many  facts  in  regard  to  the  school  appropria- 
tions appeared  on  the  old  town  records.  December  31,  1782,  it 
was  ''voted  to  raise  the  sum  of  £3  for  the  support  of  a  grammar 
school  for  the  ensuing  year.''  August  17,  1783,  the  same  amount 
was  voted  for  a  grammar  school.  At  the  March  meeting,  1785,  it 
was  "  Voted,  that  £150  be  raised  for  the  support  of  the  schools  of 
the  town."  This  allowance  was  so  liberal,  or  the  people  were  so 
economical,  that  it  was  not  nearly  all  used  ;  for  at  the  town  meet- 
ing of  April  3,  1786,  it  was  ''Voted,  that  the  money  granted  last 
year  for  the  use  of  schools  and  not  laid  out  be  appropriated  to  the 
same  use  this  year." 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  45 

The  question  of  school  districts  now  came  up,  and  proved  a 
stumbling  block  for  several  years.  At  the  last  named  meeting  it 
was  *^  Voted,  that  the  Selectmen  and  Assessors  of  the  town  divide 
the  town  into  proper  districts."  But  they  were  slack  or  disobedi- 
ent, for  nearly  three  years  afterward,  June  13,  1789,  it  was  "Voted, 
that  the  Selectmen  divide  this  town  into  proper  districts  for 
schools."  May  11,  1789,  a  committee  of  thirteen  was  appointed 
to  advise  with  the  Selectmen  *'upon  just  methods  to  divide  the 
town  into  school  districts."  May  3,  1790,  the  people  getting  im- 
patient at  the  slow  movements  of  such  a  large  body,  the  "  Select- 
men and  committee  appointed  on  division  of  the  town  into  school 
districts  were  instructed  immediately  to  report."  A  very  liberal 
construction  was  put  on  the  word  '^immediately"  by  the  public 
servants,  for  no  record  is  made  of  their  report  until  May  9,  1791, 
upwards  of  a  year.  It  was  then  ''Voted,  to  accept  the  report  of 
the  committee  appointed  to  divide  the  town  into  school  districts 
agreeable  to  their  plan."  At  the  town  meeting  in  1791  £100  was 
"raised  for  the  support  of  free  schools,"  to  be  paid  in  produce  at 
certain  stipulated  prices,  ani  apportioned  according  to  the  num- 
ber of  children  in  each  district. 

April  1,  1793,  it  was  "Voted,  that  the  interest  of.  the  rent  or 
sale  of  the  school  lands  in  this  town  be  appropriated  to  the  use  of 
schools  only."  A  committee  of  three  was  appointed  to  investigate 
— Israel  Jones,  Elijah  Sprague  and  Ephraim  Whipple.  They  re- 
ported nearly  £1000  due  of  interest  and  principal. 

May  13,  1793,  Elijah  Sprague,  Humfrey  Tiffany  and  Phillip 
Mason  were  appointed  a  committee  "to  prosecute  and  obtain  the 
town's  property  in  lands  granted  to  the  original  proprietors  for 
school  and  ministerial  purposes."  This  committee  was  discharged 
August  22,  1794,  and  another  appointed  October  3,  1794.  It 
seems  that  a  considerable  sum  was  realized  from  these  lands,  for  in 
1829  the  school  fund  amounted  to  $4547,  vested  in  lands  which 
yielded  an  annual  rent  of  about  $270,  which  was  distributed  among 
the  districts  according  to  their  number  of  persons  under  21  years 
of  age.  The  school  fund,  for  convenience  of  management,  has 
now  become  merged  into  the  general  funds  of  the  town,  and  the 
school  money  is  raised  by  direct  tax,  like  the  money  for  roads, 
bridges  and  other  necessary  objects.  The  amount  raised  in  1859 
was  upwards  of  $3300,  of  which  $800  was  for  the  High  School. 

The  school  books  of  olden  times  were  few  in  number,  and  not 
adapted  to  the  youthful  understanding.  Much  of  the  matter  con- 
tained in  them  was  "Greek"  to  the  pupils.  The  leading  book  in 
use  was  Webster's  spelling  book,  which,  with  the  Third  Part  and 


46  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

the  New  Testament  were  the  principal  reading  books.  So  scarce 
-and  high  were  these  books  that  the  pupils  loaned  to  each  other, 
while  to  purchase  them  it  was  necessary  to  send  to  Williamstown 
or  Pittsfield.  The  Young  Man's  Companion  was  the  first  arithme- 
tic in  which  federal  currency  was  used.  In  the  town  records  the 
earliest  mention  of  federal  currency  was  in  1798 — the  Collector 
was  to  be  paid  three  cents  on  the  dollar.  Previously,  in  Pike's 
and  other  arithmetics,  the  old  British  denominations  of  £,  s.  d. 
were  followed,  and  all  accounts  were  so  kept  and  notes  so  drawn. 

The  school  books  in  use  even  so  late  as  1814  were  limited  in 
number  and  complex  in  character.  There  were  some  excellent 
reading  books  for  high  schools,  but  wholly  inappropriate  for  the 
■common  schools — such  as  the  Columbian  Orator  and  American 
Preceptor.  Many  of  the  highflown  words  in  these  books  could 
'Scarcely  be  pronounced,  much  less  understood  by  the  pupils.  The 
other  school  books  were  Morse's  Geography,  Federal  Currency, 
Pike's  Arithmetic  and  Murray's  Grammar,  the  last  two  of  which 
would  puzzle  the  brain  and  try  the  patience  of  a  Doctor  of  Laws 
to  fully  comprehend  them.  And,  indeed,  these  were  but  little 
used,  for  the  reason  that  few  teachers  were  competent  to  elucidate 
them,  and  but  few  parents  considered  these  branches  of  much 
practical  value.  The  study  of  grammar  was  generally  considered 
a  waste  of  time,  and  so  was  that  of  arithmetic  by  the  misses. 
Women  it  was  thought  needed  only  to  understand  housework.  The 
love  of  learning  was  a  genteel  name  for  laziness. 

Most  of  the  scholars  of  that  day  graduated  at  from  the  ages  of 
11  to  14  years, — those  who  could  work  were  taken  from  the  schools 
joung  and  made  to  do  so.  The  schools  were  kept  by  men  about 
three  months  in  the  winter  and  by  women  about  three  or  four 
months  in  the  summer.  The  wages  of  the  male  teachers  was  from 
-$8  to  $12  per  month  and  board  around;  of  females,  $1  to 
■$2  per  week  and  board  around.  For  such  pay  as  this  there 
•can  be  no  doubt  but  what  some  ill-educated  and  ill-mannered 
pedagoges  were  necessarilly  engaged.  It  was  often  the  case  that 
teachers  lacked  either  the  mental  qualifications  for  imparting 
knowledge,  the  powers  of  good  government,  or  the  genialty  which 
won  the  love  and  respect  of  the  pupils.  There  were  many  noble 
exceptions,  but  it  is  nevertheless  a  fact  that  school  graduates 
retained  a  more  lively  idea  of  the  imprints  upon  the  palm  of  their 
hands  with  a  beech  ''ruler"  than  of  any  lesson  they  received. 
Corporal  punishment  was  the  main  reliance  of  the  teachers,  even 
of  the  gentler  sex,  and  instead  of  blackboards,  "black  and  blue" 
fipots  abounded. 


HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  47 

Owing  to  the  lack  of  system  in  instruction  and  the  lack  of  knowl- 
edge and  skill  in  many  instructors,  as  well  as  the  scanty  time 
devoted  to  schooling  our  grand  parents  are  wholly  excusable  for 
any  deficiencies  in  culture.  They  could  not  learn  more  than  was 
taught  them,  nor  progress  faster  than  the  way  was  opened.  The 
rising  generation  have  ample  facilities,  not  only  provided,  but 
urged  upon  them,  and  neglect  or  inattention  on  their  part  will  be 
followed  by  lasting  sorrow  and  inferiority.  While  their  grand  parents 
were  allowed  but  a  few  mouthfulls,  as  it  were,  of  education,  the 
youth  of  the  present  day  can  enjoy  a  full  and  hearty  meal. 

As  has  been  stated  the  village  remained  one  district  until  1841. 
A  second  school  house  was  built  on  Center  street  in  182G,  another 
-at  the  Union  in  1831.  The  school  house  on  State  street,  now 
occupied  by  the  Hoosac  Valley  News,  was  built  in  1841,  and  the 
brick  school  house  on  Chestnut  street  in  1849. 

Following  is  a  copy  of  the  schedule  of  property  in  this  village, 
made  out  in  1841,  for  the  purpose  of  assessment.  It  contrasts 
strikingly  with  one  of  the  present  day. 

Eeal  Estate. 
East     District,  $32,035 

Center       "  41,300 

AVest         ''  20,900 


Personal. 

Total. 

$10,370 

$42,405 

9,995 

51,355 

13,213 

34,123 

$94,295  $33,578  $127,883 

J3RURY   ACADEMY. 

About  the  year  1840  the  w^ant  of  better  school  facilities  was 
T3eginning  to  be  severely  felt,  and  parties  interested  began  looking 
a,round  for  a  man  who  would  donate  enough  to  erect  a  suitable 
building.  Dr.  E.  S.  Hawkes  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  project 
^nd  suggested  the  matter  to  a  Mr.  Gore  of  Monroe,  who  was  one 
of  the  wealthiest  men  in  this  section  in  those  days,  being  estimated 
•at  about  $50,000.  Mr.  Gore  said  he  would  consider  the  matter 
provided  he  should  at  all  times  have  the  power  to  dictate  the 
character  of  teachers  to  be  engaged.  He  subsequently  offered 
-$3000,  but  the  offer  was  refused  because  of  the  conditions  imposed. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Nathan  Drury  of  Florida,  was  taken  quite 
;sick,  and  Dr.  Isaac  Hodges,  a  partner  of  Dr.  Hawkes,  was  called 
to  attend  him.  In  talking  the  case  over  with  Dr.  Hawkes  after 
liis  visit  to  the  sick  man,  it  was  decided  to  suggest  the  matter  of  a 
school  building  to  Mr.  Drury.  This  was  done  and  the  matter 
favorably  considered,  whereupon  Drs.  Hodges  and  Hawkes  both 
went  without  delay  to  Florida  and  had  writings  made  out  and 
executed   immediately.     Dr.   Hodges  was  made  the  receiver  and 


48  HISTORY   OF   Js^ORTH    ADAMS. 

dispenser  of  all  Mr.  Drury^s  property,  under  the  direction  and 
assent  of  his  wife,  who  soon  vested  all  power  in  the  doctor  without 
restriction  or  limitation.  Dr.  Hawkes  procured  and  prepared  the 
grounds,  while  Dr.  Hodges  superintended  the  construction  of  the 
building.  The  matter  of  location  was  a  subject  of  considerable 
discussion  and  controversy,  opinion  being  about  evenly  divided  be- 
tween the  present  site  on  the  hill  and  the  lower  lands  of  Main 
street.  The  present  location  was  finally  decided  on,  however,  be- 
cause of  high  ground  and  commanding  position.  The  hill  was 
lowered  about  seventeen  feet  in  order  to  to  get  a  level  surface  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  This  work  occupied  about  six 
weeks,  at  an  expense  of  about  $400.  In  doing  this  work  one  im- 
portant fact  was  demonstrated.  Thirteen  feet  below  the  surface, 
on  the  summit,  a  tree  about  fifteen  inches  in  diameter  was  found 
imbedded  in  the  gravel,  the  body  entire,  apparently  hard  wood, 
lying  north  and  south,  showing  that  the  hill  was  formed  by  a 
mighty  rush  of  water  from  the  north,  bringing  all  kinds  of  rocks 
and  trees  with  it.  The  presumption  would  be  that  the  town  of 
Stamford  was  once  a  lake,  that  the  bar  was  at  the  Beaver  or  Glen 
mill,  and  that  the  breaking  away  of  the  body  of  water  prepared  a 
location  for  our  academy.  Work  was  pushed  rapidly  on  the  build- 
ing, and  it  was  completed  in  1843,  the  first  school  being  held  there 
in  the  fall  of  that  year. 

The  first  board  of  trustees  were  Isaac  Hodges,  Josiah  Q.  Kobin- 
son,  Thomas  Tower,  Amasa  Bixby,  E.  S.  Hawkes,  Thomas  Robin- 
son, William  E.  Bray  ton,  Alpheus  Smith,  Edmond  B.  Penniman, 
Sanford  Blackinton,  Harvey  Arnold,  Stephen  B.  Brown  and  Ben- 
jamin Hathaway,  Dr.  Hodges  was  made  first  president  of  the 
board.  The  will  of  Mr.  Drury  gave  in  trust  $3o00  to  erect 
an  academy  in  the  village  of  North  Adams,  in  the  county  of 
Berkshire,  to  be  called  Drury  Academy.  The  building  was  to  be 
of  brick  or  marble  and  said  academy  and  premises  should  belong 
to  the  association  or  corporation  of  Drury  Academy,  so  long  as  it 
was  used  for  the  instruction  of  youth  m  the  diflierent  branches  of 
literature;  but  when  it  ceases  to  be  used  for  that  purpose  for  one 
year  it  shall  become  the  property  of  his  heirs. 

The  first  principal  of  the  school  was  Lyman  Thompson,  who 
continued  in  charge  for  eight  years.  At  one  time  the  school  had 
a  membership  of  about  100.  That  the  school  finally  fell  into 
decline  under  his  charge  would  appear  from  a  record  of  a  meeting 
of  the  trustees  under  date  of  April  10,  1849.  Dr.  Isaac  Hodges 
said  '*he  wished  it  distinctly  understood  that  it  was  his  opinion 
that   the  school   could  never  recover  from  its  low  and  declining 


HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  49 

condition  without  a  change  of  principals."  In  1851  a  free  high 
school  was  first  established,  William  Pitt  Porter  succeeding  Mr. 
Thompson  and  remaining  in  charge  until  the  fall  of  1854.  This 
school  was  kept  but  six  months  a  year,  the  principal  conducting  a 
private  school  during  the  balance  of  the  time.  Jarvis  Rockwell 
succeeded  Mr.  Porter  in  the  fall  of  18.")4,  and  taught  two  terms. 
Then  Thomas  Gorman  taught  two  terms.  In  1856  Frank  Shepard 
assumed  the  charge  and  taught  with  fair  success  for  three  years. 
Other  teachers  who  taught  one  or  two  terms  were  Mr.  Robinson,. 
Mr.  Williams,  Hoxey  Hall  and  F.  P.  Brown.  In  1865  Mr.  A.  D^ 
Miner  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  school,  and  he  has  continued  to- 
the  present,  a  period  of  twenty  years. 

In  1866  the  want  of  more  room  was  so  severely  felt  that  the  old 
building  was  torn  down,  the  hill  lowered  twenty-one  feet  and  the* 
main  part  of  the  present  structure  commenced.  The  building  was. 
finished  in  the  summer  of  1867,  and  the  first  school  held  there  in. 
the  fall  of  that  year.  The  cost  of  the  building  and  furnishing  was. 
about  $80,000.  The  building  contained  thirteen  school  rooms, 
two  recitation  rooms  and  the  hall.  In  1879  the  annex  was  added, 
and  occupied  in  the  spring  term  of  1880.  This  contains  five 
school  rooms  and  two  recitation  rooms.  The  cost  of  the  annex  all 
furnished  was  about  $15,000. 

The  Veazie  street  schoolhouse  was  built  in  1873,  and  opened  in 
the  fall  of  that  year  with  three  schools. 

In  1883  the  Union  street  school  was  opened  with  eight  school 
and  eight  recitation  rooms.  The  property  was  purchased  on  the 
1st  of  June,  1882,  of  Messrs.  Gallup  &  Houghton,  who  became 
possessors  of  it  on  the  20th  of  April  of  that  year. 

In  1884  the  town  voted  to  rai.se  $12,000  to  build  a  new  house, 
but  the  building  committee  appointed  for  the  purpose  failed  to 
fiud  a  suitable  site,  and  so,  with  the  consent  of  the  Selectmen,  the 
School  Committee  fitted  up  four  additional  rooms  in  this  Union 
street  building  at  an  expense  of  $3928. 

THE   FIRST   CHURCHES. 

The  early  settlers  of  Adams  being  mostly  Connecticut  born  and 
bred,  adhered  to  their  religious  sentiments  and  habits.  They 
formed  a  Congregational  church  and  society  and  fulfilled  the 
conditions  on  which  the  township  was  granted  to  them  by  building 
a  meeting-house  and  settling  a  minister.  The  first  meeting-house 
was  built  of  logs,  probably  as  early  as  1760,  on  a  spot  afterward  oc- 
cupied by  an  orchard,  near  the  bridge  on  the  **2  1-2  mile  cross 
roads"  between  the  north  and  south  villages.     Rev.   Samuel  Todd 


50  HISTORY    OF   KORTH    ADAMS. 

was  installed  pastor  of  the  church.  Its  records  are  lost,  and  the 
dates  and  other  particulars  of  its  history  can  not  be  learned.  Not 
long  after  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Todd  the  poverty  caused  by  the 
Eevolution,  and  the  frequent  changes  of  population,  cut  down  his 
supj^ort.  A  vote  of  the  inhabitants  taken  January  3,  1778,  before 
the  incorporation  of  the  town,  appears  on  the  clerk's  books  pro- 
posing to  Eev.  Mr.  Todd  to  relinquish  his  claims  on  the  ministerial 
lands  (to  which  he  was  entitled  because  of  being  the  first  settled 
minister)  and  take  his  dismission. 

He  was  dismissed,  but  held  on  to  the  real  estate,  and  for  several 
years  there  was  an  uncertainty  about  the  title  of  these  lands.  The 
town,  in  1796,  petitioned  to  the  General  Court  to  confirm  Mr. 
Todd's  title,  and  so  unravel  the  snarl.  The  '^'minister's  lot''  now 
constitutes  the  town  farm,  on  the  east  road. 

An  old  burying  ground  is  near  the  site  of  this  log  church,  and 
the  bones  of  many  of  the  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  repose  there. 
The  first  burials  from  the  village  were  doubtless  made  there. 

The  Friends  society  in  South  Adams  was  formed  in  1781,  and 
worshipped  in  a  log  cabin  until  1786,  when  they  erected  the  house 
now  standing  about  half  a  mile  northwest  of  the  center  of  that  vil- 
lage. The  families  of  David  Anthony,  Isaac  Killy,  Isaac  Upton, 
Joshua  Lapham  and  Adam  Harkness  constituted  the  society  at  its 
first  organization.  Robert  Nesbit  was  their  first  recommended 
>speaker.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mary  Beatty,  and  the  third  was 
David  Aldrdge.  These  Friends,  or  Quakers,  were  principally  from 
Rhode  Island,  and  with  their  kindly  ways,  their  sound  morality, 
their  hatred  of  aristocracy  and  humbug  generally,  and  their  thrifty 
habits,  were  a  desirable  acquisition  to  the  town.  Residing  mainly 
.at  Adams,  their  further  history  will  have  to  be  postponed. 

About  the  year  1782  the  inhabitants  of  this  village,  of  various 
religious  sentiments,  raised  and  covered  the  frame  of  a  meeting- 
house, 38  feet  long  by  30  wide,  on  the  site  of  the  William  lUackin- 
ton  house,  on  Church  street.  It  stood  without  windows  or  doors 
until  1795,  when  the  people  subscribed  a  sufficient  sum  to  remove 
it  into  the  village  and  finish  it.  The  job  of  moving  was  done  by 
Captain  Colgrove,  the  task  occupying  three  days  with  a  large  force 
of  men  and  thirty-five  or  forty  yoke  of  oxen.  The  pine  stumps  on 
the  east  side  of  Church  street  were  cut  down  or  smoothed  off  for 
the  rollers  to  pass  over,  it  being  necessary  to  keep  the  highway 
clear.  The  site  selected  for  the  building  was  the  present  site  of 
the  Baptist  church.  Here  the  house  was  completed  after  a  time. 
The  floor  was  of  loose  boards,  while  the  seats  were  rude  benches 
without   backs.     The   house  faced  the  south,   and   a   porch  was 


niSTORr  OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  51 

placed  in  front  with  stairways  leading  to  the  galleries.  There 
"were  three  aisles,  fifteen  windows,  and  about  four  hundred  persons 
t30uld  be  -seated.  The  pews  were  finished  off  in  a  large,  oblong 
form,  with  seats  on  three  sides,  one  side  being  reserved  for  the  pew 
door,  so  that  when  the  house  was  very  full  part  of  the  audience 
sat  with  their  backs  to  the  speaker.  The  galleries  being  wide  and 
rather  low,  some  of  those  who  sat  in  the  pews  nearest  the  wall 
could  not  see  the  preacher.  The  gallery  pews  were  finished  in 
similar  style  to  those  on  the  flo'^r,  and  the  seats  being  as  ''square 
•as  a  brick,"  and  as  hard  as  the  good,  sound  lumber  of  those  days 
was  apt  to  be,  the  accommodations  for  sleeping  was  not  by  any 
means  up  to  the  modern  fashionable  standard.  In  the  winter  the 
women  carried  foot  stoves,  while  in  the  summer  both  boys  and 
girls  went  barefooted  until  well  into  their  ''teens."  "Old  enough 
to  go  to  meeting  barefooted"  was  not  an  unmeaning  Joke.  For 
thirteen  years  after  the  removal  of  this  meeting-house  into  the  vil- 
lage (or  until  1808)  there  was  no  regular  organized  church  in 
North  Adams.  A  Baptist  preacher  named  Dyer  Stark  was  em- 
ployed to  preach  a  part  of  the  time  here  and  a  part  of  the  time  in 
Stamford,  Vt.  Elder  Amos  Bronson  also  preached  here,  and  vari- 
ous itinerants  of  different  creeds  held  forth  as  opportunity  offered. 
The  pews  having  been  sold  to  villagers  of  no  exclusive  faith,  the 
house  was  opened  whenever  a  request  came  from  the  proper 
source. 

It  is  stated  that  the  early  settlers  held  meetings  more  frequently 
and  exhibited  a  deeper  religious  zeal  when  their  provisions  became 
short  and  their  garments  ragged.  This  has  been  the  case  with  all 
communities  from  the  Jews  of  antiquity  down  to  the  Americans  of 
the  present  day.  In  men's  distress  they  ''call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord/'  and  too  often  forget  Him  when  they  are  relieved. 

BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

By  reference  to  a  previous  page  of  this  sketch  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  old  meeting-house,  which  was  the  only  one  in  this  village,  had 
been  moved  in  1794  or  '95  to  the  site  of  the  present  edifice  on 
Church  hill.  It  was  occupied  as  a  house  of  worship,  with  occa- 
sional preaching,  but  without  any  organized  church,  for  fourteen 
years. 

On  the  30th  of  October,  1808,  a  Baptist  church,  consisting  of 
twenty-two  members,  was  organized  by  Elder  Calvin  Keyes.  From 
its  first  organization  until  the  year  1828  the  whole  number  of  per- 
sons who  had  belonged  to  it  was  178.     In  consequence  of  removals 


52  HISTORY    OF   rilORTH    ADAMS. 

and  deaths  the  number  connected  with  it  at  that  time  was  only 
about  100. 

The  pastors  who  have  presided  are  as  follows  : 

George  Witherell,  from  December  1,  1808,  to  December  1,  1813» 
Elijah  F.  Willey,  from  December  1,  1815,  to  April  1,  1817. 
Hosea  Wheeler,  from  the  fall  of  1817  to  the  summer  of  1818. 
George  Robinson,  from  the  fall  of  1819  to  the  spring  of  1820. 
Samuel  Savory,  from  December  1,  1820,  to  February  3,  1826. 
Charles  B.  Keyes,  from  June  1,  1827,  to  April  1,  1834. 
Asa  H.  Palmer,  from  April  1,  1834,  to  April  1,  1836. 
Lemuel  Covell,  from  May  1,  1836,  to  April  1,  1838. 
Thomas  S.  Rogers,  from  April  1,  1838,  to  April  1,  1840. 
John  Alden,  from  April  1,  1840,  to  April  1,  1846. 
Horace  T.  Love,  from  June  15,  1846,  to  April  1,  1852. 
Miles  Sanford,  from  June  23,  1853,  to  March  10,  1871. 
Cortland  W.  Annable,  from  March  17,  1872,  to  March  25,  1877. 
Abraham  C.  Osborn,  from  September  1, 1877,  to  Augu&t  20,.  1884. 
Francis  H.  Rowley,  from  December  14,  1884. 

In  1829  the  old  meeting-house,  being  \exy  inconvenient  in  form 
and  much  out  of  repair,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  build  another 
house  for  public  worship  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  growing  society. 
The  old  house  was  therefore  moved  back,  and  now  is  occupied  by 
families,  just  in  the  rear  of  the  present  edifice.  A  brick  building 
was  erected  on  the  same  site,  40x63  feet,  at  an  expense  of  about 
$3000.  In  1844  the  house  was  remodeled  and  improved  inside  at  a 
cost  of  $1200. 

The  constant  and  numerous  additions  to  the  church  by  member- 
ship, as  well  as  the  increased  number  of  attendants,  with  the  aug- 
menting population  of  the  village,  caused  the  edifice  to  be  extreme- 
ly crowded.  It  was  found  to  be  too  small,  in  fact,  to  accommo- 
date the  actual  necessities  of  the  denomination. 

In  1848  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  take  down  the  building 
and  erect  on  the  same  site  a  more  capacious  and  convenient 
building.  The  new  house  was  commenced  May  12,  1848,  and  com- 
pleted in  a  little  over  one  year.  It  was  built  of  briok  and  of  the 
following  dimensions  :  Length,  94  feet ;  width,  64  feet ;  height 
of  ceiling,  40  feet.  It  contained  120  pews  on  the  first  floor, 
38  in  the  galleries,  and  would  comfortably  seat  1000  people.  There 
was  a  large  and  convenient  vestry  in  the  basement,  which  would 
seat  about  400.  The  edifice  cost  $15,000.  The  organ  had  thirty- 
two  registers  and  some  1200  pipes,  and  cost  $2000.  The  entire 
property  of  the  society  in  1858  or  '59  was  about   $20,000.     The 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  53 

church  was  dedicated  June  21,  1849,  by  Rev.  Bartholomew  Welch, 
D.  D.,  then  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 

On  October  30,  1858,  at  the  completion  of  half  a  century  from 
the  date  of  the  organization  of  this  church,  special  religious  ser- 
vices were  held  and  an  appropriate  and  interesting  sermon  preached 
by  Rev.  Miles  Sanford,  the  pastor. 

On  the  4th  of  May,  1875,  the  church  was  badly  burned,  the  fire 
originating  in  the  organ.  In  August  of  that  year  the  work  of 
tearing  down  the  ruins  was  begun,  the  Wilson  Hall  being  used  as 
a  place  of  worship  until  the  spring  of  the  next  year,  when  the 
chapel  was  completed.  On  the  7th  of  August,  1880,  the  church 
was  dedicated.  It  will  comfortably  accommodate  1000  persons, 
and  is  valued,  including  other  property,  at  about  $100,000,  the 
original  cost  of  the  church  being  $50,000.  The  society  now  has 
nearly  900  members,  with  Rev.  F.  H.  Rowley  as  pastor.  The 
home  Sunday  School  has  600  scholars,  and  the  five  mission  schools 
about  100  each. 

Ui^^TVERSALIST   CHURCH. 

The  Universalist  society  of  this  village  was  organized  in  1842, 
under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  William  Wilcox,  formerly  of  Vermont. 
Previous  to  1840  there  was  occasional  preaching.  In  that  year 
Rev.  Mr.  Beckwith  preached  here  every  few  weeks,  the  meetings 
being  held  in  the  third  story  of  the  Arcade  building.  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Wilcox  preached  during  1841  and  1842. 

In  1843  Stephen  B.  Brown  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  society 
the  Methodist  church  building  on  Centre  street,  afterward  used  as 
a  Catholic  church,  and  now  by  John  A.  Bond  &  Bro.  as  a  livery 
stable,  for  the  sum  of  $450. 

In  1851  the  society  purchased  of  S.  W^.  Brayton,  at  a  cost  of 
$900,  the  lot  on  State  street  which  forms  the  present  site  of  the 
church,  and  erected  the  building  now  standing  at  a  cost  of  about 
$7100,  It  contains  70  slips,  and  will  seat  about  500  people.  There 
is  a  pleasant  and  comfortable  vestry  in  the  basement,  which  has 
been  used  for  a  school  room, 

METHODIST   EPISCOPAL   CHURCH. 

In  1784  a  considerable  body  of  Methodists  made  their  appear- 
ance in  the  south  part  of  this  town.  Soon  after  there  were  a  few 
in  the  north  part,  principally  in  the  Notch,  where  a  small  class  was 
formed  in  1823. 

The  origin  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  in  this  village 
dates   back  to  that  year,     Mr.    Ebenezer   Aid  en  then  removed 


54  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

here  from  Pownal,  Vt.,  to  take  charge  of  the  grist  milk  About, 
the  same  time  a  young  man  named  Joseph  Hayden  came  to  work 
for  Captain  Giles  Tinker,  as  a  machinist.  He  had  a  license  to  ex- 
hort, and  being  anxious  to  see  the  work  of  God  advanced,  started  a 
prayer  meeting  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Alden.  The  result  was  a  re- 
vival and  the  conversion  of  sixty-four  persons  and  the-  formation  of 
a  church  of  these  converts.  A  local  preacher  of  Petersburg,  ]N"» 
Y.,  who  had  labored  in  the  revival,  formed  a  class  and  organized 
the  church  in  proper  form.  It  was  received  into  the  Petersburg 
circuit,  and  the  circuit  preacher  delivered  a  sermon  here  every  two 
weeks.  Among  the  original  members  were  Ebenezcr  Alden  and 
wife,  Joseph  Hayden,  Giles  Tinker  and  wife.  Hart  Ives  and  wife, 
Thomas  McClellan  and  wife. 

The  society  met  at  Mr.  Tinker's  shop,  also  at  the  schoolhouse 
and  various  private  dwellings,  until  the  summer  of  1824.  They 
then  purchased  a  lot  on  Centre  street,  on  the  site-  of  J.  A.  Bond  & 
Bro.'s  stable,  for  S30.  The  deed  bears  date  of  June  21,  1824. 
They  also  purchased  for  a  small  sum  an  unfinished  frame  building 
which  had  been  erected  for  a  glass  house  by  Daniel  Sherman,  but 
never  used.  This  building  was  removed  to  the  site  selected  for  it 
and  temporarily  fitted  up.  The  original  trustees  were  Ebenezer 
Alden,  Edward  Holden,  Harris  Arnold,  Giles  Tinker  and  Orson 
Wells. 

The  M.  E.  church  continued  to  worship  in  this  building  until 
1843,  when  they  sold  it  to  the  Universalists  for  1450.  It  afterward 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Eoman  Catholics.  The  society  then 
purchased  the  lot  where  the  present  church  stands  and  built  an 
edifice  which  was  completed  in  1844,  and  dedicated  by  Rev.  John 
B.  Stratton,  the  presiding  elder  of  the  conference.  The  new 
church  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $4000.  In  1847  North  Adams  became 
a  station,  and  in  that  year  the  church  had  237  members.  The 
pastors  of  the  church  have  been  numerous,  for  the  reason  that  the 
rules  of  the  church  require  a  change  every  two  years.  They  are  as, 
follows  : 
Eev.   Wright  Hazen,  appointed  Rev.  Peter  Harrower,  2  years. 

in  1833,  continued  2  years.         Rev.  T.  W.  Pearson,  2  years. 
Rev.  E.  G.  Hibbard,  2  years.  Rev.  Thomas  Dodgson,  2  years. 

Rev.  Joseph  Eames.  Rev.  AV.  P.  Gray,  2  years. 

Rev.  Reuben  Wescott.  Rev.  Peter  R.  Stover,  2  years. 

Rev.  Orrin  Pier,  2  years.  Rev.  Samuel  ^[eredith,  2  years. 

Rev.  Ezra  Sprague,  1  year.  Rev.  B.  0.  Meeker,.  2  years. 

Rev.  Luman  A.  Sanford,  2  years.  Rev.  E.  H.  Foster,  2  years,  died 
Rev.  Timothy  Benedict,  2  years.         February  14,  1861. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  55 

Kev.  Chester  F.  Burdick,  filled  Rev.  Richard  Meredith,   1  year. 

out  his  time.  Rev.  T.  A.  Griffin,  3  years. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Jutkins,  2  years.  Rev.  H.  C.  Farrar,  3  years. 

Rev.  T.  Wade,  1  year.  Rev.  J.  W.  Eaton,  3  years. 

Rev.  S.  M.  Merrill,  3  years.  Rev.  S.  McLaughlin,  1  year. 

Rev.  Wm.  H.  Meeker,  2  years.      Rev.  S.  McKean,  3  years. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Thompson,  the  present  pastor,  has  been  here  1  year. 
In  1872  their  meeting-house  was  torn  down  to  make  room  for 
their  present  edifice,  which  cost  about  $65,000,  and  is  valued,  in- 
cluding the  grounds,  at  $75,000.     The  society  now  has  a  member- 
ship of  650,  and  the  Sunday  School  400. 

CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH. 

The  first  formation  of  the  Congregational  society  in  town  has 
already  been  described  in  this  work  in  connection  with  the  old 
church  over  which  Rev.  Samuel  Todd  presided,  situated  at  the 
cross  roads  between  the  two  villages.  From  the  time  of  the  dis- 
missal of  Mr.  Todd  until  the  19th  of  April,  1827,  there  was  no 
regular  organized  church  here  of  this  denomination.  On  that  date 
and  year,  however,  the  present  church  was  organized.  Rev.  J.  W. 
Yeomans  being  the  first  pastor.  In  the  following  year  their  first 
church  was  built,  but  September  6,  1865,  their  present  edifice  was 
erected.  The  society  now  has  a  membership  of  438,  with  no  set- 
tled pastor. 

Below  is  a  list  of  the  pastors  who  have  been  settled  over  the 
society  : 

Rev.  John  W.  Yeomans,  D.  D.,  settled  November  12,  1828,  dis- 
missed February  16,  1832. 

Rev.  C.  B.  Tracy,  settled  July  10,  1832,  dismissed  Februa- 
ry 16,  1834. 

Rev.  Alva  Day,  settled  May  26,  1835,  dismissed  May  24,  1836. 

Rev.  Ezekel  Russell,  D.  D.,  settled  June  22,  1836,  dismissed 
April  24,  1839. 

Rev.  Robert  Crawford,  D.  D.,  settled  August  24,  1840,  dis- 
missed September  28,  1855. 

Rev.  Albert  Paine,  settled  December  3,  1856,  dismissed  April 
21,  1862. 

Rev.  William  H.  McGifford,  settled  May  13,  1863,  dismissed 
March  1,  1865. 

Rev.  AVashington  Gladden,  settled  February  28,  1867,  dis- 
missed 1871. 


56  HISTORY    OF   NORTH     ADA:MS. 

Rev.  Lewelleyan  Pratt,  1871  to  1876. 

Rev.  T.  T.  Munger,  settled  December  11,  1877,  dismissed  No- 
vember 4,  1885. 

The  cost  of  the  present  edifice  was  about  $33,000.  A  bell  weigh- 
ing 51^5  pounds,  and  costing  over  13000,  hangs  in  the  tower  of 
the  church,  the  gift  of  Samuel  J.  Whitton  of  Coleraine,  but  after- 
wards of  Perkinsville,  Vt. 

EPISCOPAL   CnURCII. 

St.  John's  Episcopal  church,  located  on  Summer  street,  was 
organized  by  William  Tatlock,  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  Jr.,  the  students 
of  Williams  College  and  others,  in  1850,  the  Rev.  Benjamin  F. 
De  Costa  being  the  first  rector.  In  1857  a  church  building  was 
erected  of  wood,  which  was  succeeded  in  1869  by  the  present  stone 
structure,  which  Avill  seat  about  350  persons,  and  is  valued,  in- 
cluding grounds,  at  $'26,000.  The  building  was  a  gift  to  the  society 
from  Mrs.  Hiram  Sibley,  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  The  society  now 
has  150  communicants,  with  Henry  I.  l^odley  as  rector.  The  Sun- 
day school  has  191  scholars  and  15  officers  and  teachers. 

UNION"    CHURCH. 

The  Blackinton  Union  church,  located  at  Blackinton,  was  or- 
ganized by  Rev.  John  Alden  in  1843,  with  twenty  members.  The 
church  building,  erected  in  1871,  will  seat  300  persons,  and  is  val- 
ued, including  grounds,  at  $12,500.  There  are  now  about  150 
members,  the  pulpit  being  supplied  by  the  pastors  of  the  Baptist, 
Congregational  and  Methodist  churches.  The  church  building 
was  erected  by  Sanford  Blackinton  and  donated  to  the  village. 

ROMAN   CATHOLIC    CHURCH. 

In  1825  several  Irish  families  had  settled  here,  but  they  had  no 
organized  religious  services  until  1848.  In  that  year  Rev.  Father 
Edward  Cavanaugh,  the  pastor  in  Pittsfield,  established  a  mission 
and  said  mass  once  in  three  months  in  some  of  the  Irish  houses. 
The  first  mass  was  celebrated  in  the  house  of  Michael  Ryan,  in  the 
^^  Union."  The  Roman  Catholics  then  numbered  about  twenty 
families.  Father  Patrick  Cuddihy  succeeded  Father  Cavanaugh 
as  pastor  in  Pittsfield,  and  attended  the  mission  in  North  Adams. 
The  first  church  was  built  on  Centre  street,  about  this  time. 
Father  Edward  H.  Purcell  succeeded  Father  Cuddihy  in  1860, 
and  Father  Charles  Lynch  was  appointed  his  assistant  in  the  same 
year.  In  less  than  two  years  the  Roman  Catholic  population  had 
so  increased  that  Father  Lynch  was  appointed  pastor  here,  with 
missions  in  South  Adams,  Williamstown  and  at  the  east  end  of  the 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  57 

Hoosac  Tunnel.  From  November,  1862,  until  1883,  Father  Lynch 
labored  assiduously  for  the  flock  entrusted  to  his  care.  He  bought 
a  lot  of  land  on  Eagle  street  and  began  the  present  church  edifice 
in  1864.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  the  summer  of  1867,  and 
the  church  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  July,  1869.  At  the 
east  end  of  the  tunnel  and  at  the  central  shaft  halls  were  procured 
and  mass  celebrated  once  each  month. 

A  few  years  afterward,  as  Father  Lynch  saw  the  debt  of  the 
church. diminishing,  he  placed  in  the  tower  of  it  a  large  bell  and  a 
set  of  chimes.  In  this  he  was  liberally  assisted  by  the  manufac- 
turers and  citizens  of  the  town.  After  many  years  of  hard  and 
assiduous  labor  Father  Lynch  was  stricken  with  paralysis  on  the 
28th  of  May,  1883.  He  was  53  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
He  had  been  a  priest  twenty-six  years,  all  but  five  of  which  were 
spent  in  this  town.     He  was  succeeded  by  Father  Charles  E.  Burke. 

The  English  speaking  Roman  Catholics  in  town  now  number 
about  3500  people. 

FRENCH   ROMAN   CATHOLICS. 

The  French  Canadian  congregation  was  established  in  1870,  by 
the  Rt.  Rev.  P.  T.  O-'Reilly,  Bishop  of  Springfield,  who  kindly 
granted  the  permission  asked  by  the  numerous  French  families  in 
town  of  having  a  pastor  of  their  own  nationality.  Up  to  that 
time  the  French  had  worshipped  with  the  Irish  Catholics  of  St. 
Francis^  church.  The  first  pastor  of  the  French  church  was  Rev. 
Fr.  Crevier  of  the  diocese  of  Montreal.  He  took  charge  of  the  con- 
gregation in  January,  1871.  At  that  time  there  were  200  French 
families  in  Xorth  Adams,  and  also  about  100  in  South  Adams. 
Father  Crevier  found  himself  at  the  head  of  a  large  congregation 
and  mission.  In  1871,  there  being  no  French  church,  the  people 
rented  the  old  Irish  chapel  on  Centre  street.  After  four  years  this 
chapel  was  abandoned  for  the  basement  of  the  new  church,  which 
the  congregation  had  commenced  building  in  a  sightly  location  on 
East  Main  street.  The  first  service  attended  in  this  basement  was 
on  December  25th,  1874.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  funds  at  this  time 
work  was  suspended  on  the  building,  the  congregation  continuing 
to  worship  in  the  basement.  They  worked  hard  and  untiringly 
to  reduce  a  debt  of  $24,000  on  the  property,  and  in  1885  had 
diminished  it  to  $8,000.  Their  hopes  of  completing  the  church 
edifice  now  began  to  assume  shape,  for  in  the  summer  of  this  year 
the  walls  and  spire  were  raised,  and  the  church  w-ill  be  completed 
in  the  spring  or  summer  of  1886,  leaving  the  church  about  $20,000 
in  debt. 


PUBLIC  HOUSES. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE   OLD   BLACK    TAVERN. 

This  building  stood  on  the  east  corner  of  Main  and  State  streets', 
the  site  of  which  is  now  occupied  by  Martin's  block.  For  a 
of  about  twenty  years  this  was  the  only  public  house  in  town. 
The  rear  part  was  built  by  Samuel  Day,  and  afterwards  occupied 
by  Abiel  Smith,  one  of  the  early  settlers.  This  was  undoubtedly 
prior  to  1780,  as  the  front  east  wing  was  erected  by  David  Darling 
in  1788. 

The  building  derived  its  name  from  the  color  it  was  painted. 
In  1795,  Mr.  Darling  opened  the  same  as  a  public  house.  It  was 
afterwards  sold  and  occupied  by  Roger  Wing,  who  has  been  pre- 
viously mentioned  as  a  clothier.  About  1804,  Bethuel  Finney 
purchased  the  premises  of  Mr.  Wing,  and  erected  the  upright  or 
main  part  of  the  building.  He  kept  it  until  about  the  year  1808, 
when  Richard  Knight  purchased  the  building  and  forty  acres  of 
land  adjoining,  for  the  sum  of  $4000.  The  boundaries  included 
all  the  then  vacant  land  from  a  point  below  the  Berkshire  House, 
east  on  the  south  side  of  Main  street  to  about  the  corner  of  Bank 
street,  thence  south  embracing  a  large  share  of  what  are  now  Sum- 
mer, Quincy  and  a  part  of  Chestnut  streets,  including  all  of  State 
street  to  the  bridge  and  the  grounds  of  the  Pittsfield  &  North 
Adams  railroad.  Mr.  Knight  kept  the  house  for  several  years, 
and  then  leased  it  to  George  Whitman  who  kept  it  during  the  years 
of  1812,  '13,  '14.  In  1814,  W.  E.  Brayton  succeeded  Mr.  Whitman 
as  lessee  and  occupied  it  until  the  spring  of  1816,  when  Alpheus 
Smith,  who  had  formerly  kept  a  public  house  at  Cheshire  Corners, 
leased  the  premises  and  occupied  the  same  for  a  period  of  nearly 
twenty  years,  or  until  it  was  closed.     There  was  formerly  a  long 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  59> 

row  of   Lombardy   poplar  trees  in  front  of  the  old   black   tavern^ 
outside  the  sidewalk. 

This  was  the  only  public  house  kept  in  the  village  until  the 
erection  of  the  Berkshire  House  in  1815.  As  a  matter  of  course  it, 
did  a  large  business,  especially  after  the  close  of  the  war  with 
Great  Britain,  when  emigration  from  New  England  to  Genesee 
county  and  the  Western  Reserve  in  Ohio  was  at  its  height.  Oxl 
teams  were  then  the  principal  motive  power  for  heavy  draughts, 
and  two  or  three  yokes  were  attached  to  a  large  canvas  covered 
wagon,  labeled  '^Ohio"  and  accompanied  by  a  one  or  two  horse 
vehicle,  with  the  family.  The  emigrant  party  were  generally 
supplied  with  cooking  utensils  and  provisions,  camping  out. 
nights  when  distant  from  hotels.  The  journey  occupied  from 
twelve  to  sixty  days. 

THE   BERKSHIRE   HOUSE. 

The  large  and  commodious  hotel  on  Main  and  State  street  now 
well  known  as  the  Berkshire  or  Richmond  House,  was  originally  a 
small,  two  story  building,  less  than  two-thirds  its  present  Main 
street  length.  It  was  erected  in  1815  by  Col.  Wm.  Waterman  and 
was  designed  as  a  stage  tavern.  Mr.  Waterman  opened  and 
occupied  the  house  for  six  years,  keeping  also  the  post  office.  He 
disposed  of  the  premises  to  George  Whitman,  who  added  twenty- 
five  feet  to  the  east  end.  In  a  few  years  it  again  changed  hands 
and  Rufus  Wescott  became  the  proprietor,  occupying  it  with  his, 
sons  for  about  two  years.  They  then  leased  the  house  to  Henry 
Jenks  who  kept  it  for  two  years.  It  was  next  carried  on  during 
1828  by  Nathaniel  G.  Waterman.  In  1829  James  Wilbur  became- 
the  proprietor  and  occupant.  He  greatly  improved  the  premises, 
added  eight  feet  to  the  west  end,  raised  the  building  another  story, 
added  a  dining  room,  piazza  and  pillars,  and  also  repaired  the  out 
buildings. 

About  1836,  Benjamin  Howard  rented  the  house  and  kept  it  for 
two  years,  when  George  and  Jerry  AV^ilbur,  sons  of  the  proprietor, 
took  possession.  They  refitted  the  house,  made  many  needed  im- 
provements and  carried  it  on  until  the  close  of  1844.  x'^.bout  this, 
time  John  Holden  became,  in  part  or  whole,  proprietor  of  the: 
premises,  and  afterwards  a  joint  owner  with  Jenks  Kimbell. 

During  1846  or  '47  Henry  W.  Brown  (afterwards  agent  for  the 
T.  &  B.  R.  R.  for  many  years)  was  the  lessee  and  occupant  of  the^ 
house.  In  1848  Gen.  E.  Bailey  leased  the  house  and  carried  it  on 
for  two  years.  Phineas  Cone  was  the  successor  of  Mr.  Bailey,, 
renting  the  house  during  the  years  1850  and   '51.      In  1852   thft 


«60  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

Jiouse  was  closed  and  remained  so  until  1856  when  it  was  purchased 
and  reopened  by  R.  D.  Hicks. 

The  old  Berkshire  House  having  bided  its  time  was  now  the  only 
Jiotel  in  the  village,  the  North  Adams  House  having  been  closed. 
Mr.  Hicks  made  many  improvements  in  the  house  and  premises 
according  to  the  demands  of  the  times.  On  the  first  of  December 
1860,  A.  E.  Eichmond  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Hicks  and 
sold  out  to  D.  S.  Hicks  in  February  of  1865,  who  run  it  about  a 
.year  and  a  half  when  Mr.  Richmond  bought  it  back  again  in 
August  of  1866. 

THE    NORTH    ADAMS    HOUSE. 

In  1835,  the  Old  Black  Tavern  having  become  too  small,  incon- 
yconvenient  and  dilapitated  for  public  necessity,  and  the  increasing 
business  of  its  landlord,  Alph^us  Smith,  he,  in  connection  with 
O.  C.  Smith  and  Walter  Laflin,  purchased  the  private  residence 
of  Capt.  Jeremiah  Colegrove  on  Main  street,  added  twenty-one  feet 
front  of  brick,  three  stories  high,  raised  the  roof  of  the  rear  part 
.to  correspond  and  completed  the  whole  in  good  shape  for  a  first 
vclass  hotel,  with  piazzas  to  each  story  eight  feet  in  width.  This 
new  hotel  was  open  in  1836  and  kept  by  A.  &  0.  C.  Smith.  A 
few  years  later  Alpheus  Smith  purchased  the  interest  of  0.  0. 
Smith  and  soon  after  Mr.  Laflin's  interest  also.  He  in  turn,  in 
1847,  sold  all  the  property  to  Jenks  Kimbell  and  Charles  I. 
Tremaine,  and  retired  from  business. 

Chas.  I.  Tremaine  kept  the  house  in  good  repute  for  one  year 
and  then  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  Kimbell.  Arthur  F.  Wilmarth 
leased  the  premises  and  kept  the  house  in  1848.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded as  lessee  by  Wm.  R.  Shaw,  who  kept  the  house  in  1850 
and  '51.  He  retired  to  accept  from  President  Pierce  the  post  of 
steward  of  the  White  House, 

Fortunately  for  the  reputation  of  our  village,  upon  the  closing 
^of  the  Berkshire  House  in  1852,  by  an  agreement  between  the 
proprietors  of  both  houses,  Phineas  Cone  leased  the  North  Adams 
House,  and  removed  into  it  from  the  Berkshire  House.  He  kept 
this  house  for  three  years  and  was  succeeded  by  R.  D.  Hicks,  who 
kept  it  very  acceptably  until  it  was  sold  to  S.  and  E.  Thayer  in 
1856.  This  popular  hotel,  the  resort  of  the  villagers  for  quiet, 
social  intercourse,  and  ever  the  comfortable  home  of  the  stranger, 
ceased  its  career  as  it  had  begun,  with  a  high  reputation  at  home 
and  abroad. 

WILSON    HOUSE. 

This  hotel  was  built  in  1866  by  A.  B.  Wilson,  the  inventor  of 
-the  Wheeler  and  Wilson  sewing  machine,  at  a  cost  of  $140,000. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    A»AMS.  61l 

It  was  opened  to  the  public  in  1867.  At  the  end  of  one  year  it 
was  leased  by  the  Manufacturers'  Association,  and  re-leased  by 
them  to  A.  E.  Richmond  of  the  Berkshire  House,  he  running 
both  hotels.  It  was  soon  after  re-leased  to  E.  Rogers  and  H.  M.. 
Streeter,  who  kept  it  until  the  end  of  the  association's  five  year's, 
lease.  The  property  was  then  bought  by  John  F.  Arnold  for 
$90,000,  and  after  many  improvements  had  been  made  was  leased 
to  Streeter,  Smith  &  Co.,  they  keeping  it  about  two  and  one-halt 
years,  during  which  time  the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  North  Adams  Savings  bank.  In  1877  Mr.  F.  E.  Swift  became^ 
the  sole  proprietor,  leasing  it  of  the  bank  until  1880,  when  he 
purchased  the  entire  property  by  paying  off  the  mortgage  of 
$75,000. 

BALLOU   HOUSE. 

In  1870  Maturin  Ballou  erected  a  hotel  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  on 
the  site  of  the  building  now  owned  by  H.  W.  Clark  &  Co.,  near 
the  depot.  The  house  was  managed  by  Mr.  Ballou's  sons  untili 
1876,  when  Edwin  Thayer  foreclosed  a  mortgage  of  $12,000,  and 
took  possession.  For  a  year  after  this  it  was  kept  by  A.  A.  Jones 
and  John  Thayer,  the  name  being  cbang.ed  to  the  Commercial 
House.  Upon  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Jones  in  1878,  the  premises> 
were  leased  by  Mr.  John  Thayer,  who  was  keeping  it  On  the  third, 
of  January,  1881,  when  it  was  entirely  destroyed  by  fij'c. 


PROFESSIONAL 

CHAPTER  IX. 

LAWYERS. — DATE   OF  THEIR   SETTLEMENT. 

llOMAS  EOBINSOX,  1812.  He  was  the  first  lawyer  who 
settled  in  this  place,  staying  about  six  months  and  then 
^settling  at  Adams,  where  he  enjoyed  an  extensive  practice  for 
twenty-four  3'ears,  returning  to  this  village  in  1836.  He  was 
Master  in  chancery  several  years.  When  the  act  providing  for 
commissioners  of  insolvency  was  passed  in  1848,  he  received  from 
Ksrov.  Briggs  the  first  appointment  of  commissioner  of  this  county 
and  held  the  office  for  five  successive  years.  He  was  also  attorney 
for  the  Adams  bank. 

Nathan  Putnam,  1815.  He  was  grandson  of  Gen.  Isreal  Put- 
•nam,  the  revolutionary  hero.  He  had  an  extensive  practice  for 
several  years,  there  being  no  other  attorney  in  the  village.  He 
married  a  daughter  of  Richard  Knight  and  died  here  in  the  52d 
year  of  his  age. 

Daniel  Robinson,  1824. 

Charles  P.  Huntington  about  1828.  He  removed  to  Northamp- 
ton after  a  few  months. 

Daniel  Parish  about  1830. 

Edward  Penniman,  1835.  He  enjoyed  a  very  large  and  lucra- 
'tive  practice,  and  died  here  in  1844. 

Nehemiah  Hodge,  1831.  He  afterwards  mostly  relinquished 
the  practice  of  law  for  the  management  of  his  patent  railroad 
brake.  He  was  more  fortunate  than  many  inventors,  in  under- 
standing how  to  enforce  his  rights. 

Henry  L.  Dawes,  1842,  He  came  here  a  stranger,  with  dubious 
iprospects  and  in  debt.      He  was  thrice  elected  as  Representative 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  63 

to  the  General  Court,  also  a  delegate  to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion in  1853.  For  several  years  district  attorney  for  the  common- 
wealth, he  was  afterwards  elected  as  a  representative  and  then  as 
congressman  of  the  United  States,  which  office  he  now  holds. 

James  T.  Robinson,  1844.  He  was  twice  elected  State  Senator 
from  this  district;  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  constitutional  con- 
vention in  1853;  Register  of  Insolvency  in  1856.  Upon  the 
decease  of  Daniel  N.  Dewey  in  1859  he  received  from  Governor 
Banks  the  appointment  of  Judge  of  Probate  and  Insolvency  for 
this  county,  under  the  new  organization,  which  did  away  with  the 
work  of  Commissioners  of  Insolvency. 

Lyman  C.  Thayer,  1847. 

0.  C.  B.  Duncan,  about  1848. 

Andrew  A.  Richmond,  1848.  He  was  twice  elected  Represen- 
tative to  the  General  Court,  once  Senator  for  Berkshire  county, 
was  appointed  trial  Justice  of  the  Police  Court  of  Adams,  and  one 
of  the  three  commissioners  to  revise  the  statutes  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

Shepard  Thayer,  1852.  He  was  appointed  Commissioner  of 
Insolvency  by  Gov.  Washburn  in  1853,  holding  the  office  for  three 
years.  AVas  re-elected  by  the  people  in  1859.  Now  holds  the  office 
of  associate  justice  of  the  District  Court. 

Wm.  P.  Porter,  1856.  Entered  into  partnership  with  H.  L. 
Dawes  Jan.  1,  1857. 

A.  W.  Preston,  1858. 

At  present  there  are  twelve  lawyers  in  town. 

ACTING    JUSTICES   OF   THE    PEACE. 

Only  those  who  acted  officially  are  named.  Isreal  Jones.  He 
must  have  been  appointed  as  early  as  1800  and  transacted  the 
principal  business  for  many  years.  Others  were  James  Cummings, 
Jeremiah  Colegrove,  Ezra  D.  Whitaker  and  Abel  Wetherbee. 

A  few  lawyers  who  settled  here  tried  some  cases,  and  so  did 
other  justices  besides  those  named,  occasionally. 

A  special  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  April  12,  1854,  estab- 
lishing a  Police  Court  in  this  town.  Andrew  A.  Richmond  was 
appointed  standing  justice  and  Charles  J.  Marsh  of  South  Adams 
special  justice.  Upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Richmond  to  the  Sen- 
ate and  his  taking  a  seat  therein,  June  1,  1855,  the  office  of  stand- 
ing justice  became  vacant,  and  Joel  Bacon  was  appointed.  Judge 
Bacon  held  the  office  until  the  District  Court  was  formed,  in  1870, 
with  jurisdiction  over  Adams,  North  Adams,  Clarksburg,  Savoy, 
Florida  and  Cheshire,  when  Jarvis  Rockwell  was  put  at  its  head. 


64  HISTOKY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

where  he  presided  until  his  death,  on  the  14th  of  May,  1885.  On 
the  28th  of  May,  1885,  the  vacancy  caused  by  Judge  Rockweirs 
death  was  filled  by  the  appointment  of  George  P.  Lawrence  to  the 
justiceship  of  the  district. 

PRACTICING     PHYSICIANS. 

Below  is  given  a  list  of  the  early  physicians  and  the  dates  of 
their  settling  here,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained.  Previous  to 
1800  the  physicians  from  Williamstown  and  Adams  were  sum- 
moned to  attend  patients  here  : 

Dr. AVaters,  about  1803. 

Dr.  James  Cummings,  1805. 

Dr.  Anson  Holloway,  1810. 

Dr.  Robert  0.  Robinson,  1812.  He  left  and  returned  twice, 
dying  here  in  1846. 

Dr.  George  Hill,  1822. 

Dr.  Thomas  A.  Bray  ton,  1824.  He  gave  up  practice  in  1831 
and  became  engaged  in  manufacturing. 

])r.  Isaac  Hodges,  1824.     Left  and  returned  twice. 

Dr.  Charles  Knowlton,  1826. 

Dr.  Ambrose  Brown,  1828.     Died  here  in  1831. 

Dr.  Elihu  S.  Hawkes,  1829.  Succeeded  Dr.  Brayton^s  practice. 
Died  May  17,  1879. 

Dr.  Martin  Bryant,  1830. 

Dr.  Lawson  Lang,  1832. 

Dr.  L.  J.  Aylsworth,  1835. 

Dr.  Henry  P.  Phillips,  1836.  Practiced  for  some  time  previous 
in  Adams.     Died  here  November  24,  1881. 

Dr.  William  H.  Tyler,  1837. 

Dr.  Thomas  Taylor,  1837.     Died  here  in  1854. 

Dr.  S.  N.  Briggs,  1840.  Still  in  practice  in  1885,  and  is  now 
senior  resident  in  the  profession  here. 

Dr.  N.  S.  Babbitt,  1845.  Practiced  ten  years  previously  at 
Adams. 

Dr.  Alvah  Harvey,  1845. 

Dr.  George  H.  Wilson,  1852. 

Dr.  George  C.  Lawrence,  1859.  Practiced  twelve  years  previ- 
ously at  Adams.     Died  January  6,  1884. 

At  the  present  time,  1885,  there  are  fourteen  resident  physicians 
in  town. 

REPRESENTATIVES   TO   THE   GENERAL   COURT. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  following  list  that  the  doctrine  of  *'rota- 
tioii   in  office"  was  not  very  strictly  observed  in  early  times,  and 


HlSTOllY   OF   KORTH    ADAMS.  65 

probably  not  appreciated,  or  else  the  citizens  were  not  very  ambi- 
tions for  office  : 

1779,  Samuel  Todd. 

1780,  Reuben  Hinman,  at  a  town  meeting  on  May  25.  Enos- 
Parker,  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  October  11.  The  state  constitu. 
tion  was  not  then  in  fairly  working  order,  and  it  required  two  rep- 
resentatives a  season. 

1781-2,  Enos  Parker. 

1783-4  there  was  no  record  of  a  Representative  having  been 
chosen.  Probably  the  town  did  not  feel  able  to  afford  the  expense, 
as  this  was  a  period  of  excruciating  money  pressure. 

1785-6,  Isreal  Jones  ;  the  last  year  with  written  instructions 
given  by  a  committee  of  seven,  chosen  in  town  meeting  September 
30.  December  18  it  was  voted  that  the  town  had  no  further  busi- 
ness for  him — a  polite  hint  that  he  was  not  a  Shays  man. 

1787-8,  Reuben  Hinman  ;  the  first  year  with  instructions  from  a 
committee  of  five. 

1789,  Jonathan  Remington. 

1790,  Reuben  Hinman. 

1791,  Reuben  Hinman.     Appointed. 

1792,  Israel  Jones.     He  was  re-elected  for  five  years. 

1798,  Abraham  Howland.  He  received  114  votes  to  94  for  Israel 
Jones.  In  this  year  the  Democratic — then  called  Republican — party 
first  gained  that  supremacy  in  the  town  which  they  maintained  for 
over  forty  years. 

1799,  Abraham  Howland  received  94  votes  to  4  scattering,  and 
in  1800  he  received  70  votes,  all  that  are  recorded  as  having  been 
cast. 

Until  1831  the  town  meeting  for  the  choice  of  Representatives 
was  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May,  and  the  General  Court  met 
on  the  fourth  Wednesday  of  the  same  month.  As  the  state  and 
county  officers  were  voted  for  on  different  days,  and  the  town  was 
so  overwhelmingly  Democratic  for  many  years,  that  a  contest  was 
futile.  The  average  vote  for  Representative  was  very  light,  often 
less  than  one-quarter  as  large  as  for  the  Governor  and  Senators. 

1801,  Abraham  Howland,  by  52  votes,  all  that  appear  to  have 
been  cast. 

1802,  Abraham  Howland,  by  79  votes  to  24  for  Shubael  AVil- 
marth. 

1803,  Abraham  Howland,  by  74  votes,  all  that  are  recorded. 

1804,  Abraham  Howland,  by  58  votes  to  26  for  Stephen  Jenckes. 

1805,  Stephen  Jenckes,  by  88  votes  to  63  for  Abraham  Howland. 

1806,  Stephen  Jenckes,  by  89  votes  to  64  for  Elisha  Wells. 


66  HISTORY   OF   is^ORTH    ADAMS. 

1807,  Elisha  Wells,  by  99  votes  to  64  for  Josiah  Q.  Robinson,  3 
scattering. 

1808,  Elisha  Wells,  by  57  votes  to  25  for  Daniel  Read,  3  scat- 
tering. 

1809,  Elisha  Wells  and  Thomas  Farnum,  by  83  votes  each.  The 
town  was  now  sufficiently  large  to  entitle  it  to  two  Representatives. 

1810,  Thomas  Farnum  by  62,  John  Waterman  by  52  and  James 
Mason  by  55.     Another  Representative  was  added  this  year. 

1811,  Thomas  Farnum  by  40,  James  Mason  by  44. 

1812,  Thomas  Farnum  by  44,  James  Mason  by  52,  2  scattering. 

1813,  John  Waterman  and  Daniel  Read. 

1814,  Daniel  Read. 

1815,  John  Bucklin,  Henry  Wilmarth.  Nehemiah  Field  was 
first  elected,  but  afterward  excused. 

1816,  Henry  Wilmarth  and  William  P.  Briggs. 

1817,  Henry  Wilmarth  by  31,  2  scattering. 

1818,  Isaac  Brown,  by  31  to  19  for  Elisha  Kingsley. 

1819,  Isaac  Brown  by  38,  1  scattering. 
1820-21,  Richmond  Brown. 

1822,  William  E.  Brayton. 

1823,  William  E.  Brayton  and  Richmond  Brown. 

1824,  Peter  Briggs  and  William  Waterman. 

1825,  Peter  Briggs. 

1826,  James  Mason. 

1827,  Nathan  Putnam  and  James  Mason. 

1828,  Edward  Richmond,  Richmond  Brown  and  Henry  Wil- 
marth. 

1829,  William  E.  Brayton  and  Thomas  Farnum. 

1830,  William  E.  Brayton  and  Thomas  Farnum. 

1831,  William  E.  Brayton,  James  Wilbur  and  Isaac  U.  Hoxie. 

1831,  Thomas  Farnum,  James  Wilbur  and  Elisha  Kingsley,  at  a 
November  meeting. 

1832,  Alpheus  Smith,  Sanford  Blackinton,  David  Anthony  and 
James  Mason. 

1833,  E.  Kingsley,  206  votes ;  George  A.  Lapham,  209  ;  Evenel 
Estes,  158  ;  Daniel  Jenks,  162. 

1834,  Stephen  B.  Brown,  245  votes  ;  George  A.  Latham,  213  ; 
Evenel  Estes,  250  ;  Daniel  Jenks,  253. 

The  ballots  were  taken  for  one  Representative  at  a  time,  and 
therefore  some  of  the  defeated  candidates  had  more  votes  than 
some  who  were  elected,  as  follows  :  Ebenezer  Cole,  241  ;  Zolotes 
Richmond,  246  ;  Joseph  L.  White,  233. 

1835,  Henry  Wilmarth,  312  ;  Ebenezer  Cole,  306  ;  Stephen  B. 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS.  67 

Brown,  311  on  the  ballot  for  first  Representative  and  294  for  sec- 
ond Representative.  This  was  the  famous  three  days'  town  meet- 
ing, held  at  the  Town  House,  about  midway  between  the  two  vil- 
lages. It  was  hotly  contested,  and  there  were  charges  of  double 
voting  and  illegality  on  both  sides,  the  particulars  of  which  would 
occupy  too  much  space.  Messrs.  Wilmarth  and  Cole  took  their 
seats  in  the  House,  but  a  petition  adverse  to  them  was  presented, 
and  after  a  full  consideration  by  the  Committee  on  Elections  they 
were  declared  to  be  illegally  chosen,  inasmuch  as  the  Selectmen 
adjourned  the  meeting  without  authority  from  the  voters.  A  pre- 
cept for  a  new  election  was  issued,  and  on  the  10th  of  March,  1836, 
Messrs.  Wilmarth  and  Cole  were  again  elected,  with  very  few  op- 
posing votes.  An  eifort  to  unseat  them  again  was  made,  on  the 
grounds  that  the  chairman  refused  to  put  a  motion  to  adjourn 
which  had  been  properly  made  and  seconded.  The  effort  failed, 
however,  though  Mr.  Cole  did  not  appear  to  take  his  seat. 

1836,  Henry  Wilmarth,  273  ;  Daniel  A.  Wells,  140  ;  Alanson 
Cady,  144  ;  Isaac  Dean,  159.  Ebenezer  Cole  was  re-elected  and 
excused. 

1837,  Joseph  L.  White,  130  ;  Shubel  Wilmarth,  130 :  John 
Hall,  130. 

1838,  Joseph  L.  White,  313  ;  Shubel  Wilmarth,  312  ;  John 
Hall,  311.  John  Brown  had  248,  Daniel  A.  Wells  244,  and  Reu- 
ben Whitman  246. 

1839,  Lorenzo  Rice,  262  ;  Snell  Babbitt,  259.  Ezra  D.  Whita- 
ker  had  234,  Evenel  Estes  244,  Hezekiah  Kingsley  247,  Reuben 
Whitman  243,  Samuel  Gaylord  74.  On  balloting  for  a  second 
Representative,  Ezra  D.  Whitaker  had  112  votes,  and  was  elected. 
The  Democracy  was  routed  this  year. 

1840,  Lorenzo  Rice,  323  ;  Snell  Babbitt,  330.  Orson  Wells  had 
274,  Joshua  Anthony  275,  and  there  were  8  scattering. 

1841,  Edward  Badger  by  264,  William  Jenks  by  267.  Salmon 
Burlingame  had  242,  Thomas  A.  Brown  241,  and  there  were  13 
scattering. 

1842,  William  Jenks,  Edmund  Badger. 

1843,  The  town  records  contained  no  mention  of  any  vote  cast 
for  Representatives.  It  is  said  there  was  a  tie  between  Rodman  H. 
Wells  and  Jenks  Kimbell,  each  having  about  345  votes,  and  there 
were  12  '' Liberty"  party  votes. 

1844,  No  choice  for  Representatives.  The  Liberty  party  num- 
bered about  58  votes,  and  held  the  balance  of  power  between  the 
Whigs  and  Democrats. 

1845,  No  choice  again.     Amasa  W.  Richardson  had  241  votes; 


68  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

Sylvander  Johnson,  241  ;  Joel  P.  Cady,  172  ;  Dallas  J.  Dean,  181; 
John  F.  Arnold,  62  ;  Simeon  M.  Dean,  61 ;  scattering,  8.  A  sec« 
end  trial  on  the  fourth  Monday  in  Noyember  resulted  in  no  choice^ 
the  four  principal  candidates  being  nearly  tied. 

1846,  Syivander  Johnson  by  367,  George  Millard  by  357,  Dallas. 
J.  Dean  had  211;  Isaac  Holman,  142;  A.  W.  Eichardson,  70;. 
Nehemiah  Hodge,  63  ;  T.  P.  Goodrich,  65  ;  scattering,  3. 

1847,  Henry  L.  Dawes  by  282,  Dallas  J.  Dean  by  300.  This, 
year  the  town  meeting  was  held  at  the  south  village,  next  year  at 
the  north  village,  and  since  that  time  until  the  town  was  divided 
the  meetings  were  held  alternately  at  each  village.  From  1778  ta 
1826  the  meetings  were  held  at  the  Wilmarth  place  ;  from  1826  ta 
1847  at  the  Town  House.  There  was  a  long  controversy  over  the 
erection  of  this  Town  House,  which  was  located  on  what  is  known 
as  the  Howland  farm,  between  the  two  villages  on  the  west  road. 

1848,  Charles  Marsh  by  467,  Henry  L.  Dawes  by  459. 

1849,  Charles  Marsh,  Salmon  Burlingame. 

1850,  Stephen  L.  Arnold  by  454,  John  H.  Orr  by  448. 

1851,  Stephen  L.  Arnold  by  446,  H.  L.  Dawes  by  446. 

1852,  Andrew  A.  Richmond  by  467,  Henry  Tyler  by  464. 

1853,  Andrew  A.  Richmond  by  458,  and  was  the  only  person 
elected. 

1854,  Lansing  Allen  by  623,  Edwin  F.  Jenks  by  624.  This  waa 
the  year  of  the  grand  "  Know-Nothing  sweep,''  and  all  parties  were 
nearly  wiped  out. 

1855,  E.  S.  Hawkes  by  323,  Daniel  Upton  by  317.  This  year 
the  plurality  rule  was  adopted  in  the  election  of  all  officers. 

1856,  S.  r>urlingame  by  457,  Henry  Tyler  by  447. 

1857,  Sylvander  Johnson,  under  the  new  district  system,  which 
apportioned  to  this  town  every  year  one  Representative,  and  moro 
when  she  can  get  them. 

1858,  S.  Johnson,  William  H.  Tyler,  2nd. 

1859,  George  W.  Nottingham. 

POSTOFFICE   AND    POSTMASTERS. 

Following  is  a  list  of  Postmasters^  with  the  date  of  their  ap- 
pointment : 

Nathan  Putnam,  1814. 
William  Waterman,  1815. 
William  E.  Brayton,  1826. 
Edward  R.  Tinker,  1849. 
Henry  Wilmarth,  1852. 
Abel  Wetherbee,  1853. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  69 

Edwin  Kogers,  1861. 

John  B.  Tyler,  1879. 

The  first  Postoffice  in  this  town  was  established  at  the  south 
village,  which  still  retains  the  name  of  Adams.  The  communica- 
tions to  people  residing  here  were  brought  up  by  private  hands. 
In  1814  the  North  Adams  Postoffice  was  established,  and  the 
first  Postmaster  appointed  was  Nathan  Putnam,  grandson  of  Gen. 
Israel  Putnam,  who  was  then  a  practising  lawyer  here.  The  office 
was  kept  in  Mr.  Putnam's  office,  in  the  upper  part  of  Giles  Tink- 
•er's  ^'yellow  building"  on  Main  street,  on  the  site  of  the  Daven- 
port block.  The  gross  receipts  for  postoge  the  first  quarter  was 
^1.50. 

In  1815  William  Waterman  was  appointed  Postmaster,  and  the 
office  was  removed  to  the  hotel  (now  Berkshire  House)  owned  and 
kept  by  him.  He  afterward  removed  it  to  his  dwelling,  near  the 
•corner  of  Pearl  street. 

In  1826  William  E.  Brayton  received  the  appointment.  The 
^ross  receipts  for  the  first  quarter  under  the  new  Postmaster  were 
about  150.  Mr.  Brayton  kept  the  office  in  the  store  now  occupied 
by  Dr.  H.  J.  Millard  as  a  drug  store,  at  76  Main  street;  From 
1826  till  1849,  a  period  of  twenty-three  years,  the  appointment  was 
held  by  Mr.  Brayton,  and  he  at  last  resigned. 

Edward  R.  Tinker  succeeded  Mr.  Brayton  in  1849,  continuing 
the  office  as  then  located.  He  resigned  a  short  time  previous  to 
the  incoming  administration  of  Frankin  Pierce,  and  Col.  Henry 
Wilmarth  received  the  appointment.  He  was  suspended  in  five  or 
isix  months  by  the  change  in  the  national  administration. 

During  the  summer  of  1853  Abel  Wetherbee  received  the  ap- 
pointment, and  removed  the  office  to  the  building  now  occupied 
I)y  L.  L.  Scott,  at  55  Main  street,  which  building  was  built  pur- 
posely for  the  accommodation  of  the  office.  Mr.  Wetherbee  kept 
the  office  until  his  death,  which  occurred  on  the  6th  of  April, 
1861,  his  wife  holding  the  office  until  the  expiration  of  his  term. 

In  July  of  1861  Edwin  Eogers  received  the  appointment,  con- 
tinuing the  office  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  Mr.'  Scott  for  a 
«hort  time  when  he  removed  the  office  to  the  store  now  occupied 
by  Robert  Tobin,  at  70  Main  street.  Here  it  was  continued  for  a 
few  years  with  500  boxes  to  rent,  which  was  more  than  enough  to 
supply  the  wants  of  the  people.  From  this  store  it  was  removed  to 
No.  4  Holden  street,  the  office  occupying  the  whole  room,  which 
lias  since  been  partitioned  into  several  rooms.  Here  the  number 
of  boxes  was  increased  to  1000.     From  here  it  was  moved  directly 


70  HISTORY   OF   KOBTH    ADAMS. 

across  the  street  into  the  Blackinton  block,  where  it  hassincebeeu 
located. 

In  February  of  1878  Mr.  Rogers  resigned  and  the  present  Post- 
master, John  B.  Tyler,  was  appointed.  He  has  made  repeated  ad- 
ditions to  the  oflfice,  the  number  of  boxes  at  present  b^eing  nearly 
1500. 

TELEGRAPHY. 

In  1848  the  first  telegraph  line  went  through  this  town,  connect- 
ing it  with  Boston  and  New  York.  The  company  was  called  the 
Vermont  and  Connecticut  Telegraph  Company.  Local  capitalists 
subscribed  for  the  stock,  which  was  made  out  in  shares  of  one  hun- 
dred dollars  each.  The  office  was  located  in  a  room  now  used  by 
H.  D.  Ward,  the  photographer,  at  78  Main  street,  with  Hamilton 
Morris  as  operator.  The  business  only  continued  for  a  few  years> 
the  line  going  rapidly  to  decay.  It  was  ten  years  after  the  first  in- 
troduction, or  in  1858,  before  the  Western  Union  Company  con- 
nected this  town  by  wire  with  the  trade  centres.  Their  first  office 
was  located  in  the  building  then  used  as  a  postoffice,  at  55  Main 
street.  Judge  Joel  Bacon  being  the  operator.  During  the  removals 
of  the  Postoffice  to  70  Main  street^  then  to  3  Holden,  and  after- 
ward to  Xo.  1  Blackinton  block,  the  telegraph  office  followed,  and 
was  considered  a  part  of  the  Postoffice.  In  1878  it  was  removed  ta 
its  old  quarters  at  No.  3  Holden  street,  remaining  there  until  1881, 
when  it  was  removed  to  its  present  quarters  at  75  Main  street.  In 
1879  Mr.  Bacon  resigned  the  management  of  the  business  here  and 
William  F.  Orr  was  appointed  in  his  stead.  In  1885  Mr.  Orr  re- 
signed the  management  and  was  succeeded  by  Miss  A.  F.  Bates, 
who  still  continues  in  charge.  It  is  said  of  W.  H.  Phillips,  for- 
merly proprietor  and  editor  of  the  Transcript  and  Iloosac  Valletf 
NewSy  that  while  learning  the  printer's  trade  in  Bennington,  Vt.,. 
the  telegraph  office  was  located  in  the  same  room  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  occupying.  He  had  acquired  a  very  good  knowledge  of 
the  art  as  practiced  in  those  days,  that  is,  reading  from  marks 
made  on  paper.  One  day  there  came  flashing  over  the  wire, 
**  Taylor  is  dead.''  Mr.  Phillips  caught  the  message  by  sound  as 
it  passed  through,  and  told  his  fellow-workmen,  who  ridiculed  the 
idea  of  his  taking  a  message  by  sound.  He  was  firm  in  his  belief, 
however,  and  proved  to  be  right.  This  was  the  first  intimation  he 
had  of  his  gift,  and  set  about  perfecting  himself  in  the  art  of  read- 
ing by  sound,  and  became  very  proficient.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
the  first  man  in  the  United  States  who  acquired  and  cultivated  the 
gift. 


MANUFACTURING. 

CHAPTER  X. 

ARIfOLD   PRINT  WORKS. 

THESE  works  were  built  in  1861  by  Oliver,  Harvey  and  John 
F.  Arnold.  The  firm  was  known  as  Harvey  Arnold  &  Co. 
July  28,  1873,  John  F.  Arnold  sold  to  Edward  H.  Arnold  his  in- 
terest of  one-quarter  in  the  works.  July  1,  1874,  Harvey  Arnold 
sold  to  Albert  C.  Houghton  one-third  of  his  interest  of  three- 
quarters  in  the  Print  Works.  The  business  was  still  being  eon- 
ducted  under  the  name  of  Harvey  Arnold  &  Co.  i)uring  the  panic 
of  1874  and  ^75  this  firm  went  down  with  many  others.  October 
10,  1876,  the  Arnold  Print  Works  Company  was  organized,  with 
David  A.  Brayton  of  Fall  River,  president,  and  Albert  C.  Hough- 
ton, treasurer.  In  December  of  1882  Mr.  Brayton's  interests  were 
purchased,  A.  C.  Houghton  becoming  president  and  William  Ar- 
thur Gallup  treasurer.  Under  the  present  management  the  works 
have  been  greatly  enlarged,  and  a  new  industry,  the  *^  Blue  Dip,'' 
added.  They  are  running  eight  printing  machines,  which  turn 
out  20,000  pieces  of  prints  per  week,  giving  employment  to  500 
hands  in  the  printing  and  dying  establishment  alone.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1872,  the  works  were  destroyed  by  fire.  Work  of  reconstruc- 
tion, however,  immediately  begun,  and  the  works  were  started 
again  with  the  latest  improved  machinery  in  the  spring  of  1874. 

OLD    BRICK   FACTORY. 

The  old  Brick  Factory,  so  called,  stood  between  Marshall  street 
and  the  Hoosac  river,  about  on  the  site  of  the  building  known  as 


72  HISTORY    OF   KORTH    ADAMS. 

the  Marshall  street  rink.  It  was  erected  in  1811,  by  an  incor- 
porated joint  stock  company  of  twenty  persons,  each  investing 
$1,000.  The  water  privilege  and  about  six  acres  of  land  were  pur- 
chased of  Jerre  Colgrove.     The  deed  was  dated  March  7,  1811. 

The  close  of  the  war  and  the  opening  of  our  ports  to  European 
goods  in  1815,  caused  the  stoppage  of  this  mill.  It  lay  idle  till 
1819,  when  it  was  leased  by  David  Estes  and  Oliver  Parker,  who 
run  it  for  three  years.  It  again  lay  idle  until  about  1825,  when' 
Thomas  Higginbotham  &  Co.  purchased  the  entire  property,  car- 
rying on  business  for  several  years. 

Joseph  Marshall  was  the  next  owner  of  this  property,  then  James 
E.  Marshall,  Wells,  White  &  Co.,  and  Joseph  L.  White.  A.  P.  But- 
ler &  Co.  purchased  it  at  auction,  and  in  1858  sold  to  Jackson,  Ray 
&  Co.  The  old  brick  was  not  used  for  manufacturing  after  1857, 
and  the  building  being  in  such  a  worn  condition  it  was  soon  after 
this  pulled  down. 

EAGLE     FACTORY. 

This  was  the  second  cotton  mill  in  town  and  was  built  in  1813, 
hy  Giles  Tinker,  W.  E.  Brayton,  Benjamin  Sibley,  Wm.  Bradford 
and  Henry  Remmington.  It  was  located  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Eagle  mill  on  Eagle  street.  Owing  to  the  dullness  of  business  after 
the  war  of  1812,  the  factory  did  not  pay.  The  four  first  named 
proprietors  sold  out,  and  the  mill  lay  idle  for  years,  or  until  it  was 
hired  in  1820  by  Caleb  B.  Turner.  He  afterwards  leased  it  to 
Brown,  Jenks  &  Tyler,  who  for  about  three  years  operated  that 
and  another  mill  near  by.  The  next  lessee  was  Dr.  Isaac  Hodges, 
who  ran  the  mill  two  years.  About  1838,  it  was  purchased  by 
James  E.  Marshall,  rented  to  and  run  by  John  H.  Orr  and  John 
N.  Chase.  The  entire  mill  and  its  contents  were  destroyed  by  fire 
in  1845,  Messrs.  Orr  and  Chase  losing  about  13,000  in  machinery 
and  stock. 

Messrs.  A.  W.  Richardson,  Joseph  L.  White,  R.  H.  Wells 
and  JJerome  B.  Jackson  purchased  the  site  of  their  mill  of  the 
Marshalls  in  1849.  The  three  last  named  gentlemen  sold  to  Messrs. 
Richardson  and  Samuel  Gaylord  about  1859.  Mr.  Gaylord  soon 
died,  and  in  1862  Mj.  Richardson  had  completed  the  erection  of 
the  present  Eagle  mill,  and  ordered  machinery  for  fitting  it  up. 
Early  in  1863  Messrs.  W.  W.  Freeman,  L.  L.  Brown  and  Wm.  S. 
Blackinton  became  partners  with  Mr.  Richardson,  and  it  was  in 
this  year  the  mill  was  furnished  and  put  in  running  order.  It  has 
since  that  time  constituted  a  part  of  the  property  of  the  Freeman 
Manufacturing  Company. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  73 

S.    BLACKINTON    WOOLEN   COMPANY. 

Messrs.  Wells,  Blackinton  &  White  commenced  business  in 
March,  1822.  Their  first  factory  stood  near  the  road  in  front  mt 
the  present  mill  ;  the  same  building,  removed  a  few  rods  west  of 
its  former  position  is  now  used  for  storing  wool.  The  price  paid 
for  sufficient  water  power  for  their  mill  was  $300.  The  first  mill 
cost  about  $800.  The  mill  was  run  part  of  the  time  on  custom 
work,  and  part  in  manufacturing  satinet  for  pantaloon  ware,  worth 
about  75  cents  per  yard.  The  average  quantity  produced  was  about 
60  yards  per  day.  The  first  satinet  power  looms  were  used  in  their 
mill  in  1825  or  '2()  ;  they  were  manufactured  by  Giles  Tinker. 

In  1825  Wells,  Blackinton  &  Co.  bought  out  Aaron  Foot,  who 
owned  a  woolen  mill  near  theirs,  of  about  the  same  size  and  char- 
acter. They  paid  him  $6,000,  all  in  manufactured  cloth,  he  fur- 
nishing wool.  It  proved  an  unfortunate  bargain  to  Mr.  Foot,  but 
a  correspondingly  advantageous  one  for  the  *'boys." 

In  1838,  Wells  &  Blackinton  bought  out  Joseph  L.  White.  The 
old  Foot  mill  burned  in  March,  1842  ;  loss  $10,000  above  the  in- 
surance. A  stone  mill  was  erected  in  1842,  the  building,  water- 
wheel  and  shafting  costing  about  $15,000. 

The  firm  of  S.  Blackinton  &  Co.  was  formed  in  1850.  It  then  con- 
sisted of  Sanford,  John  R.,  and  Wm.  S.  Blackinton,  John  B.  Tyler 
and  Charles  Atkinson.  In  1855  Mr.  Atkinson  retired  from  the 
firm,  which  still  continued  the  name  of  S.  Blackinton  &  Co.  On 
the  2d  of  April,  185T,  a  fire  broke  out  which  caused  great  damage 
to  the  interior  of  the  stone  mill,  the  machinery,  stock,  etc.  In 
1860,  Wm.  S.  Blackinton  purchased  of  John  R.  Blackinton  and 
John  B.  Tyler  their  interest  in  the  firm,  and  became  an  equal  part- 
ner with  his  father.  The  firms's  name  was  changed  to  S.  Blackin- 
ton &  Son. 

The  breaking  out  of  the  war  in  1861,  gave  a  great  impetus  to 
the  company,  and  they  commenced  to  enlarge  their  plans,  extend- 
ing their  buildings  and  adding  machinery.  Their  last  important 
addition  was  made  in  1872,  when  a  large  building  was  erected  and 
considerable  machinery  brought  from  England,  making  the  mill  an 
eighteen-set  plant,  or  double  its  capacity  at  commencement  of  the 
civil  war.  During  the  war  the  company  had  large  contracts  for 
army  goods,  finding  them  quite  profitable.  On  the  4th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1875,  Mr.  Wm.  Blackinton  died  suddenly.  His  death  made  it 
necessary  to  withdraw  his  interest  from  the  concern,  and  in  1870  a 
stock  company  was  formed  by  Sanford  Blackinton,  Lemuel  Pom- 
'Croy,  E.  S.  Wilkinson  and  0.  A.  Archar  as  incorporators,  under  the 


74  HISTORY   OF   XORTH    ADAMS. 

firm. name  of  the  S.  Blackinton  Woolen  Co.,  with  a  paid  up  capital 
of  $250,000,  whose  property  covered  substantially  the  mill  prop- 
erty of  the  late  firm  of  S.  Blackinton  &  Son. 

THE    BEAVER. 

This  locality  doubtless  gained  its  name  from  traditions  handed 
down  by  descendants  of  the  early  settlers,  more  especially  those  of 
Clarksburg.  It  seems  there  was  a  beaver  dam  of  great  strength 
and  duarability,  erected  by  these  little  animals  on  the  Hudson 
brook,  at  the  narrow  gorge  just  below  the  Natural  Bridge.  That 
the  constant  toil  of  these  creatures,  together  with  the  floodwood, 
etc.,  raised  the  dam  to  a  great  height,  and  caused  the  water  to  flow 
back,  so  as  to  obliterate  the  falls. 

There  are  plain  evidences  that  the  water  must  at  some  period 
have  washed  the  whole  surface  and  worn  out  the  fissuers,  chasms 
and  basins.  Captain  Shippee,  who  resided  above  the  falls  some  90 
years  ago,  has  been  heard  to  say  that  he  saw  the  remains  of  the 
beaver  dam.  Several  other  families,  descendents  of  the  early  set- 
tlers, confirmed  his  statements. 

The  now  thriving  settlement,  known  as  the  Beaver,  was  in  its 
original  state  a  wild,  romantic,  and  sequestered  locality.  In  fact 
it  was  scarcely  approachable  on  foot  by  the  fisherman  and  hunter, 
owing  to  the  steep  and  almost  perpendicular  rocky  bluff,  just  above 
the  Eclipse  mill. 

In  1832,  Major  Lorenzo  Rice,  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  George 
W.  Bly,  a  practical  machinist,  formed  a  copartnership  under  the 
firm  name  of  Rice  &  Bly,  leasing  the  basement  story  of  the  Slater  mill 
in  order  to  manufacture  cotton  machinery  for  their  own  use.  In 
the  same  year  they  purchased  of  Silas  Shippee  the  "  town  lot,'* 
containing  26  acres  of  land,  and  all  the  water  power  (Beaver  mill 
site),  for  $500.  In  1833  they  erected  a  stone  mill  40x80  feet  and 
three  stories  high,  also  several  dwellings.  The  first  set  of  machin- 
ery consisted  of  some  20  looms  and  preparations  for  making  print 
goods.  The  same  year,  after  much  effort,  the  town  of  Adams  was 
induced  to  lay  out  the  road  from  the  Union  to  Clarksburg  line. 
Rice  &  Bly  rendering  important  aid  in  building  the  highway  and 
bridge.  A  committee  of  survey  had  previously  declared  it  im- 
practicable to  construct  this  road. 

In  1835,  Edmund  Burk,  an  extensive  manufacturer  of  Conway, 
became  a  resident  partner  in  the  concern.  The  sweeping  financial 
panic  of  1837,  was  weathered  in  safety  by  this  firm  of  only  five 
years  growth,  which  had  begun  to  build  its  mill  with  scarcely  meana 
enough  to  lay  the  foundation. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  7& 

In  1845  Thomas  P.  Goodrich  became  an  active  partner  in  the 
concern  and  business  was  done  as  the  firm  of  Rice,  Bly  &  Co.  Dur-. 
ing  the  preceding  year,  the  firm  had  manufactured  on  their  own 
premises  more  or  less  machinery,  and  with  what  they  had  purchased 
they  had  at  the  time  mentioned  sixty  looms  in  operation.  In  1845. 
an  L  part  of  fifty  feet  was  added  to  the  mill,  and  thirty  looms  and 
preparation  put  therein,  making  a  total  of  ninety  looms.  A  com- 
modious store  had  also  been  built. 

In  November,  1849,  Mr.  Bly  sold  his  interests  to  Major  Rice  and 
retired.     The  firm  was  continued  as  L.  Rice  &  Co. 

In  December,  1850,  the  mill  was  wholly  consumed  by  fire,  caus- 
ing a  severe  loss  above  the  insurance. 

In  the  spring  of  1851,  Maj.  Rice  purchased  the  interest  of  Burke- 
&  Goodrich  and  exchanged  the  whole  remaining  property  with  R.. 
H.  Wells  for  his  interest  in  the  firm  of  Wells,  White  &  Co. 

In  1851  Messrs.  Rodman  H.  Wells,  Shubael  W.  Brayton  and 
Henry  N.  Wells  formed  a  copartnership,  with  the  firm  name  of' 
Wells,  Brayton  &  Co.,  and  the  two  latter  became  joint  owners, 
with  the  former,  of  the  property  he  had  purchased  of  Major  Rice. 
The  new  company  erected  on  the  site  of  the  burned  edifice,  a 
spacious,  well  constructed  stone  mill  102x40  feet,  four  stories  high, 
for  the  manufacture  of  satinets  and  cashimeres. 

In  1862  R.  H.  and  Henry  Wells  sold  their  interests  to  S.  W. 
Brayton  &  S.  Johnson,  the  firm  being  changed  to  S.  W.  Brayton 
&  Co.  In  1870  the  inside  of  the  mill  was  completely  destroyed  by 
fire,  causing  severe  loss  to  the  partners.  The  mill  was  immediately 
rebuilt  and  enlarged,  S.  W.  Brayton  buying  his  partner's  interest 
in  the  concern,  the  firm  being  S.  W.  Brayton. 

In  1871  Mr.  Brayton  sold  all  his  real  estate  in  the  Beaver,  in- 
cluding the  mill,  water  privilege,  tenements,  store,  etc.,  to  W.  AV. 
Gallup,  Chester  Baily,  A.  C.  Houghton  and  Arthur  A.  Smith. 
The  firm  was  known  as  Gallup,  Baily  &  Co.  Soon  after  the  other 
partners  bought  Mr.  Baily 's  interest,  the  firm  being  changed  ta 
Gallup,  Houghton  &  Smith.  In  1877  William  Arthur  Gallup 
bought  the  interest  of  W.  W.  Gallup,  and  in  the  same  year  Messrs. 
Gallup  and  Houghton  bought  Mr.  Smith's  interest.  The  firm  was 
then  changed  to  Gallup  &  Houghton.  The  company  now  are  run- 
ning 210  looms,  employ  about  150  hands,  and  turn  out  1,500  pieces, 
of  print  cloth  each  week. 

ESTES   FACTORY. 

In  the  year  '1825,  David  Estes  &  Son  erected  a  brick  mill  46x31 
feet  and  four  stories  high.     This  afterwards  formed  a  part  of  the- 


'76  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

mill  near  the  Eagle  street  bridge,  which  was  burned  in  1845.  The 
machinery  at  first  consisted  of  180  spindles  and  9  looms.  Satinets 
were  manufactured.  Connected  with  the  same  was  a  wooden  build- 
ing for  cloth  dressing,  also  150  spindles  for  making  satinet  warps. 

TURNING    SHOPS. 

S.  Burlingame,  in  1824,  commenced  the  turning  business  in  the 
lower  room  of  the  Eagle  factory.  Previous  to  this,  temporary 
lathes  were  fitted  up  wherever  power  could  be  obtained. 

Mr.  Fuller  commenced  the  business  in  Tinkers  machine  shop, 
-and  was  succeeded  by  S.  Burlingame. 

Homer  F.  Darby  succeeded  Mr.  Burlingame,  his  shop  was  on 
Kiver  street. 

Ezra  and  Alvin  Leonard,  in  1831,  commenced  the  business  of 
general  wood  turning,  bobbin  makers,  etc.,  in  the  building  ad- 
joining the  saw  mill  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  near  Main  street 
bridge.  .They  afterwards  erected  a  shop  on  Brooklyn  street  which 
they  occupied  for  a  number  of  years. 

THE    UNION. 

This  important  section  of  our  village  was  originally  known  as 
the  ''Gory  lot."  This  name  was  probably  given  it  as  a  burlesque, 
from  the  fact  of  a  colored  man  and  his  family  named  Gory  living 
there  solitary  and  alone.  He  was  employed  in  the  flax  machine, 
then  standing  upon  the  site  of  the  Slater  mill.  This  flax  machine 
was  built  in  the  year  1800,  by  Bethuel  Finney,  owner  of  the  land 
•and  mill  privilege.  About  1811  George  Whitman  purchased  of 
Mr.  Finney  the  whole  premises  and  operated  the  machine  for 
•some  years,  when  the  dam  and  mill  were  carried  away  by  a  heavy 
freshet. 

In  1816  Mr.  Whitman  disposed  of  the  whole  property  to  Giles 
Tinker  for  the  sum  of  $600.  This  purchase  included  the  whole 
tract  of  land  and  three  water  privileges  from  the  upper  Union 
street  bridge  to  the  top  of  the  hill  above  the  Eclipse  mill.  Mr. 
'Tinker,  in  1826,  sold  to  Artemas  Crittenden  and  Salmon  Burlin- 
game the  water-power  and  one  and  a  half  acres  of  land,  afterwards 
a  part  of  the  Ingalls,  Tyler  &  Co.'s  property,  for  $150. 

In  1830  Dr.  Isaac  Hodges  purchased  of  Giles  Tinker  all  the  re- 
maining land  and  water-power  described  above  for  $700.  Dr. 
Hodges,  A.  Sanford  and  Joshua  B.  Hodges,  erected  the  Slater  mill 
jn  1832.  Dr.  Hodges  sold  to  0.  Arnold  &  Co.  in  1831,  a  water- 
power  and  three  acres  of  land  for  $300.  In  1830  he  also  sold  to 
Willard  Gould  and  Gad  Smith  three  acres  of  land  and  water-power 
for  a  saw  mill,  just  above  the  Eclipse  mill. 


HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  77. 

THE   UNION  WOOLEN   FACTORY. 

This  establishment  was  commenced  in  1826  by  Artemas  Critten- 
den and  Salmon  Burlingame.  The  reader  is  referred  to  the  sketch 
on  Mr.  Crittenden  for  the  early  history  of  this  mill.  After  the 
property  passed  into  the  hands  of  W.  E.  Brayton,  he  sold  his  two- 
thirds  of  the  property  to  Samuel  Ingalls,  Edward  Burke  and  Rod- 
man H.  Wells.  The  entire  capital  of  Wells,  Ingalls  and  Burke 
amounted  to  about  ^1,000.  At  this  time  Mr.  Wells  was  not  quite 
twenty-one  years  of  age. 

In  the  same  year,  1829,  this  firm  purchased  more  land  and  built 
an  addition  to  the  south  end  of  their  factory,  renting  a  part  to 
Arnold,  Blinn  &  Co.,  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods. 

In  1831  Ingalls  and  Wells  purchased  the  interest  of  Mr.  Burke 
and  became  sole  proprietors. 

In  1836  a  further  addition  was  made  to  the  length  of  the  build- 
ing, and  the  machinery  increased  to  eighteen  looms.     In  1845  Mr.. 
Wells  retired  from  the  firm  and  Duty  S.   Tyler  became  his  sue 
cessor. 

On  the  otli  of  May,  1852,  the  factory  building,  and  most  of  the^ 
machinery,  with  a  considerable  quantity  of  stock,  was  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  loss  was  heavy  above  the  insurance.  The  flames  had 
scarcely  ceased  to  smoulder,  however,  before  a  new  mill  was  started, 
which  was  finished  the  same  year.  The  mill  was  filled  with  new 
and  the  latest  improved  machinery. 

In  1854  Sanford  Blackinton  purchased  an  interest  in  the  con- 
cern, the  firm  being  known  as  Ingalls,  Tyler  &  Co.  In  1857  Dea- 
con Tyler  died,  after  which  for  three  years  the  mill  was  run  by 
Messrs.  Ingalls  and  Blackinton  with  the  heirs  of  Mr.  Tyler.  lui 
1860  the  company  was  reorganized,  Mr.  Ingalls  retaining  his  inter- 
est, JohnB.  Tyler  buying  his  father's  interest  of  the  heirs,  and  H. 
Clay  Bliss  purchasing  Mr.  Blackinton's  interest,  the  firm  retaining 
the  name  of  Ingalls,  Tyler  &  Co.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Ingalls,. 
in  1863,  Messrs.  Tyler  and  Bliss  purchased  the  entire  property, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Tyler  &  Bliss,  doing  business  until  1869,. 
when  the  financial  crash  of  that  year  carried  them  down.  The 
mill  was  never  run  after  this,  the  property  falling  into  the  hands, 
of  their  creditors.  In  1882  Messrs.  A.  C.  Houghton  and  William 
A.  Gallup  purchased  the  property,  and  the  building  was  sold  to< 
the  town  to  be  converted  into  a  schoolhouse. 

JOHNSON   MANUFACTURING    COMPANY. 

In  1831  Stephen  B.  Brown  formed  a  partnership  with  Duty  S.. 
Tyler,  under  the  firm  name  of  Brown  &  Tyler,  for  the  manufac- 


'78  HISTORY   OF    NOEOH   ADAMS. 

ture  of  print  goods.  They  purchased  of  George  Whitman  for  the 
sum  of  $800  the  water  power  and  about  nine  acres  of  land  adjoin- 
ing, now  the  site  of  the  mill  of  the  Johnson  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany. They  built  a  stone  mill,  the  material  of  which  was  drawn 
from  near  the  summit  of  the  mountain  north  of  the  premises.  The 
means  of  the  two  partners  were  comparatively  small.  Mr.  Brown 
had  about  $8000  and  Mr.  Tyler  14000.  The  new  establishment 
commenced  printing  goods  in  the  spring  of  1832,  and  carried  on 
^n  extensive  and  prosperous  business  for  about  eight  years,  during 
which  time  the  plant  was  increased  by  the  purchase  of  about  300 
-acres  of  land  adjoining  the  print  works. 

In  1839  Mr.  Brown  bought  out  Mr.  Tyler^s  interest  and  received 
^as  partners  Elisha  Harris  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  and  Arthur  F.  Wil- 
marth.  The  new  firm  was  Brown  Harris  &  Co.  An  immediate 
'heavy  outlay  was  incurred  for  new  machinery,  etc.  Mr.  Brown 
went  to  Europe  and  engaged  a  large  force  of  hands,  paying  their 
♦expenses  htre  and  giving  them  high  wages  for  the  time.  From 
this  cause,  in  part,  and  from  the  importation  of  low-priced  de- 
laines in  competition  to  the  high-priced  prints  they  were  making, 
the  company  met  with  indifferent  success,  and  in  1846  were 
'obliged  to  suspend  operations.  From  this  time  until  1850  the 
mill  remained  idle.  In  this  year,  however,  Sylvander  Johnson  re- 
turned from  Copake,  N.  Y.,  and  established  a  concern  for  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  warps,  which  business  he  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully up  to  1872,  when  his  mill  was  burned  to  the  ground.  In 
the  following  year  the  main  part  of  the  mill  now  standing  was 
completed  and  a  stock  company  formed  with  ^|^.  Johnson  at 
the  head.  Here  he  continued  until  his  death,  in  May,  1882.  At 
i;he  annual  meeting  of  the  directors  in  the  fall  of  that  year  his  son, 
William  S.  Johnson,  was  elected  president  of  the  concern,  which 
'office  he  held  in  connection  with  the  treasurership.  This  arrange- 
ment continued  for  one  year,  when  he  resigned  the  office  of  treas- 
urer, but  continued  the  presidency  of  the  concern.  In  1884  Mr. 
D.  D.  Parmlee  was  elected  treasurer. 

GOULD   MILL. 

This  mill  occupied  a  site  just  north  of  Union  street,  near  the 
first  bridge  from  Eagle  street.  The  main  building  was  erected  and 
■owned  by  Caleb  B.  Turner  in  1826,  and  filled  with  machinery  for 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  From  1831  to  1834  it  was  used 
by  C.  B.  Turner  and  Turner  &  Laflin.  In  1835  they  built  an  ad- 
•dition  to  the  south  end  of  the  mill  and  rented  it  to  S.  Burlingame 
'&  Co.,  who  furnished  it  with  machinery  for  the  manufacture  of 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  79 

satinets.  About  1840  Willard  and  Samuel  Gould  rented  the 
building  and  furnished  it  with  cotton  machinery.  The  building 
^nd  water  power  were  afterwards  owned  by  James  E.  Marshall,  who 
made  print  cloths.  The  building  was  afterwards  owned  by  A.  W. 
Eichardson  &  Co.,  and  was  leased  to  George  W.  Bly  for  the 
manufacture  of  cotton  batting.  In  1862,  a  greater  water  power 
being  needed  for  mills  down  the  stream,  the  dam  of  this 
mill  was  removed  and  the  building  demolished. 

STONE   MILL,    RIVER   STREET. 

This  mill  was  erected  in  1831  by  Edward  Richmond  and  Gen. 
Jabez  Hall.  The  water  power  and  three  acres  of  land  cost  $300. 
The  factory  building  and  three  dwelling  houses  cost  $7000.  At 
first  twenty  looms  were  put  in  with  a  complement  of  machinery. 
Print  cloths  were  manufactured.  Loring  Darby  was  for  a  time 
one  of  the  partners  of  the  concern.  Since  1842,  when  the  prop- 
-erty  was  sold  to  Joseph  Marshall,  it  has  passed  through  the  same 
hands  and  constituted  a  part  of  the  same  property  as  that  now 
owned  by  the  Freeman  Manufacturing  Company. 

BROOKLYN. 

That  portion  of  our  village  lying  north  of  River  street,  and 
known  as  Brooklyn,  was  until  1833  a  dense  forest  of  valuable  pine 
and  oak  timber,  being  a  reserve  lot  of  about  seventy  acres  retained 
by  the  heirs  of  the  original  owner,  Elisha  Brown,  of  North  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.  It  was  the  only  pine  lot  left  in  this  section.  About 
the  year  mentioned  above  Joel  P.  Cada  purchased,  in  connection 
with  his  brother,  the  entire  seventy  acres  of  timber  land  for 
the  low  price  of  $2000.  Mr.  Cada  eventually  became  sole 
owner,  cut  and  sawed  the  timber,  and  sold  the  same  for  building 
shafts,  etc.,  of  water  wheels.  About  1846  Mr.  Cada  began  selling 
building  lots  at  from  $50  to  $100  or  more  per  acre.  Messrs.  Leon- 
ards erected  the  first  house  and  also  a  turning  shop.  Liberty 
street  was  laid  out  about  the  year  1852.  Some  portions  of  the 
land  along  the  line  of  this  street  were  sold  to  a  Mr.  Myers  at  $42 
per  acre.  In  1868  Mr.  A.  C.  Houghton  purchased  the  entire 
property  of  what  is  now  Houghtonville  proper,  there  then  being 
only  a  few  houses  on  the  hill  north  of  North  street.  He  im- 
mediately commenced  clearing  off  brush  and  laying  out  the 
streets.  The  building  of  houses  was  soon  after  begun  by  Mr. 
Houghton,  and  were  sold  at  considerable  profit  to  the  owner. 
Although  he  has  sold  a  large  share  of  the  land  and  houses,  he  still 
retains  quite  a  farm  and  a  number  of  dwellings  in  this  district. 


80  HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

NORTH    ADAMS   MANUFACTURING    COMPANY. 

The  manufacturing  establishment  known  as  Braytonville  is  lo- 
cated one  mile  west  of  this  village  on  the  road  to  Williamstown. 
The  water  power  is  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  valuable  in 
town,  comprising  both  branches  of  the  Hoosac.  In  1831  William 
E.  and  Thomas  A.  Brayton  formed  a  partnership  under  the  firm 
name  of  T.  A.  Brayton  &  Co.,  and  purchased  of  Luke  Brown  the 
water  power  and  two  and  a  half  acres  of  land  for  the  sum  of  $520. 
The  building  of  a  dam  and  the  excavation  of  a  canal  for  bringing 
water  to  the  wheels  were  expensive.  In  1832  this  company  erected 
a  stone  mill,  40x74  feet,  three  stories  high,  with  an  attic.  The 
stone  for  building  was  drawn  from  near  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tain north  of  the  premises.  The  first  set  of  machinery  was  built 
by  Captain  Giles  Tinker,  consisting  of  twenty  looms  and  prepara- 
tion. Print  cloths  were  manufactured,  52  by  52.  Most  other 
mills  made  44  by  44  at  that  time.  The  firm  added  more  land  to 
their  first  purchase  soon  after  starting.  In  1853  William  E.  sold 
his  interest  to  Thomas  A.  Brayton.  In  1851  an  addition  of  wood, 
40  feet  long,  was  built  at  the  west  end  of  the  mill,  and  in  1859  a 
further  addition  of  24  feet.  About  1863  a  stock  company  was 
formed,  with  S.  Blackinton  as  president  and  Daniel  Dewey  treas- 
urer. The  large  brick  mill  was  built  by  this  company.  Mr. 
Dewey  was  the  prime  mover  in  the  forming  of  this  company, 
and  for  a  time  the  name  of  the  factory  village  was  changed  to 
Deweyville.  After  his  retirement  from  the  concern,  however,  the 
name  was  changed  back  to  Braytonville.  Upon  the  retirement  of 
Mr.  Dewey,  in  1868,  Mr.  William  Blackinton  became  the  active 
business  manager,  and  held  it  until  his  death  in  1876.  After  this 
Mr.  0.  A.  Archer  was  appointed  treasurer,  Mr.  Sanford  Blackin- 
ton still  continuing  as  president  of  the  concern.  In  1878  the 
company  was  reorganized,  with  H.  G.  B.  Fisher  president  and  E, 
B.  Penniman  treasurer  and  agent.  The  works  now  have  fifty  looms, 
employ  275  hands,  and  turn  out  about  20,000  yards  of  six-quarter 
fancy  cassimeres  per  month. 

FREEMAN    PRINT   WORKS. 

These  works  dates  from  the  year  1828  and  are  probably  the  oldest 
works  of  the  kind  in  this  section.  In  that  year  Caleb  B.  Turner 
purchased  the  land  of  Otis  Hodge,  Jr.,  erected  a  small  building, 
and  in  the  next  year  commenced  the  printing  of  cotton  goods. 
In  1830,  part  of  his  works  and  a  large  lot  of  goods  were  destroyed 
by  fire,  causing  him  a  serious  loss.  In  1831  he  took  in  as  a  part- 
ner Walter  Laflin,  and  this  firm  erected  the  main  brick  building 


HISTORY   OF   XORTH    ADAMS.  81 

of  the  present  works  and  a  part  of  the  outbuildings.  In  the  gen- 
eral suspension  and  crash  of  financial  matters  in  1837  the  firm 
failed.  From  this  time  until  1843  the  works  remained  idle  and  be- 
came considerably  dilapidated.  In  that  year,  however,  the  prop- 
erty was  purchased  by  Joseph  and  James  E.  Marshall,  who  repaired 
and  rebuilt  in  part,  leasing  the  establishment  for  a  term  of  years 
to  Harvy  Arnold  and  Jerome  B.  Jackson.  In  1847,  and  before  the 
lease  with  these  gentlemen  expired,  a  print  works  owned  by  Messrs. 
Marshall,  in  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  was  burned,  and  this  led  to  an  arrange- 
ment with  Arnold  and  Jackson,  whereby  they  printed  Marshall's 
goods  on  joint  account.  This  arrangement  was  continued  about 
eighteen  months,  until  December  31,  1848,  when  James  E.  Mar- 
shall became  sole  owner  of  all  the  property  of  Joseph  and  James 
E.  Marshall.  On  the  first  of  January,  1S49,  he  sold  his  entire 
manufacturing  interest,  including  the  Stone,  Estes,  Eagle  and 
Gould  mills,  also  the  print  works,  to  R.  H.  Wells,  Joseph  L.  White^ 
Amasa  W.  Richardson  and  Jerome  B.  Jackson.  About  1860 
Messrs.  A.  W.  Richardson  and  Samuel  Gaylord  purchased  the  in- 
terest of  all  the  other  partners  and  did  business  together  until  Mr. 
Gaylord's  death  in  1862.  Mr.  Richardson  became  sole  owner  of  the 
entire  concern. 

In  1863  W.  W.  Freeman,  L.  L.  Brown  and  William  S.  Black- 
inton,  purchased  an  interest  in  the  entire  property  of  A.  W.  Rich- 
ardson under  the  firm  name  of  Richardson,  Freeman  &  Co. 
In  1864  Mr.  Richardson  sold  his  entire  interest  in  the  concern^ 
and  the  name  was  changed  to  W.  W.  Freeman  &  Co.  The  Eagle 
mill  had  Just  been  completed  and  the  machinery  placed  in  which 
had  previously  been  ordered  by  Mr.  Richardson.  The  print  works 
was  running  with  two  machines.  Improvements  in  the  property 
were  constantly  made  from  that  time  until  it  reached  a  capacity  of 
seven  machines.  In  1874  the  name  was  again  changed  to  the  Free- 
man Manufacturing  Company.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Blackinton 
in  1876,  L.  L.  Brown  purchased  his  interest  from  the  heirs.  In 
1881  Mr.  Freeman,  being  of  ill  health,  was  obliged  to  retire  from 
business,  and  on  the  eighth  of  February  of  that  year,  the  interest 
of  W.  W.  and  Wallace  Freeman,  about  one-half  the  concern,  was 
purchased  by  L.  L.  Brown  and  John  Bracewell,  who  changed  the 
firm  name  to  Freeman  Manufacturing  Co.  The  plant  now  includes 
all  the  water  privilege,  buildings  and  machinery  of  Freeman  P.  W. 
Eagle,  Estes  and  Stone  mills  on  Union  and  River  streets,  together 
with  all  the  tenements  connected  with  this  property.  The  com- 
pany run  eleven  machines,  employ  600  hands,  paying  them  about 
$20,000  every  four  weeks. 


82  HISTORY    OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

GREYLOCK    FACTORY. 

In  1846,  Messrs.  McLellan,  Hunter  &  Co.,  purchased  of  Deacon 
David  Temple,  the  water-power  and  ten  acres  of  land  for  $1,000. 
They  erected  a  wooden  building,  put  in  machinery  for  cotton  manu- 
facturing and  built  two  dwelling-houses  at  a  cost  of  about  112,000. 
The  goods  made  were  yard  wide  sheetings. 

In  1848  the  proprietors  sold  the  whole  premises  to  Ansel  B.  Kain, 
who  failed  to  make  proper  payments,  and  the  property  reverted 
to  the  original  owners.  November  1,  1851,  James  Hunter  sold 
his  interest  to  his  partners.  They  soon  after  disposed  of  one- 
half  the  entire  property  to  Mason  B.  Green,  who  only  remained 
about  six  months.  In  1851  the  entire  property  was  sold  to  Messrs. 
Pitt  and  Snow,  the  latter  soon  retiring  but  the  former  continuing 
the  business  until  1856,  when  he  became  insolvent.  In  1857  R.  R. 
Andrews  purchased  the  entire  property  of  the  assignees.  He  made 
some  improvements  in  the  mill  and  tenements,  and  manufactured 
yard  wide  sheetings.  In  the  financial  crash  succeeding  the  war, 
Mr.  Andrews  made  an  assignment,  although  he  continued  to 
run  for  three  years  after.  About  1872  a  stock  company  was 
formed  who  built  an  elegant  brick  mill,  but  the  company  did  not 
exist  long  enough  to  finish  and  furnish  it.  In  1880  the  present 
company  was  formed  with  Theodore  Pomero}',  of  Pittsfield,  as 
president.  The  company  was  formed  for  the  manufacture  of  ging- 
hams, having  a  capital  stock  of  $250,000.  In  1882,  William  0. 
Plunkett  became  president  of  the  company,  which  position  he  held 
until  his  death.  William  B.  Plunkett  is  at  present  the  business 
manager.  The  mills  have  325  looms,  giving  employment  to  about 
400  hands,  and  turn  out  about  250,000  yards  of  goods  per  month. 
They  have  greatly  enlarged  the  works,  built  new  tenements  and 
greatly  improved  the  grounds  at  the  expense  of  many  thousands  of 
dollars.  It  will  be  hard  to  find  a  more  complete  factory  village  in 
this  section  of  the  country  than  Greylock. 

WHOLESALE   BOOT   AND   SHOE    MANUFACTURERS. 

In  1843  Edwin  Ohilds  and  David  C.  Rogers  commenced  manu- 
facturing boots  and  shoes  in  Penniman's  row.  In  1845,  the  busi- 
ness extending,  they  leased  and  occupied  the  building  now  occupied 
by  Tower  &  Porter,  on  Eagle  street,  and  Harvey  Ingraham  became 
a  partner.  In  1847  Mr.  Childs  retired  from  the  firm.  In  1847 
Joshua  K.  Rogers  became  a  partner  in  the  firm  of  Rogers,  Ingra- 
ham &  Co.  In  1850  George  Millard  bought  out  this  firm,  taking 
as  partners  Harvey  Ingraham  and  W.  P.  Waterbury.  In  1857  Mr. 
Millard  bought  out  his  partners  and  conducted  the  business  alone. 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  83 

In  1848  Edwin  S.  Rogers  became  connected  with  the  firm  which 
was  known  by  the  name  of  E.  Eogers  &  Co..  The  scarcity  of  cash 
in  those  days  is  well  illustrated  by  the  following  :  During  Mr. 
Rogers^  connection  with  the  firm  the  entire  product  of  the  factory 
was  sold  in  adjoining  towns  within  a  radious  of  forty  or  fifty  miles 
from  North  Adams,  being  carted  in  teams  among  the  farmers  and 
retailers.  The  pay  received  for  the  goods  was  almost  wholly  in 
farmers  produce  of  butter,  eggs,  etc.,  while  the  help  in  the  factory 
were  paid  for  their  labor  in  the  same  articles.  After  two  or 
three  years  Mr.  Rogers  severed  his  connection  with  the  firm  which 
became  George  Millard  &  Sons,  Alden  and  Henry  Millard  becom- 
ing partners  w^ith  their  father.  Alden  retired  and  Henry  and  his 
father  continued  the  business. 

Upon  the  death  of  George  Millard,  Henry  S.,  bought  of  the 
heirs  his  father's  interest  and  took  as  a  partner,  Jerome  B.  Jackson. 
The  firm  of  Millard  &  Jackson  only  continued  for  a  short  time. 
They,  however,  built  the  brick  factory  on  Union  street  now  occu- 
pied by  N".  L.  Millard,  In  1867  Wra.  H.  Whitman  purchased  of 
Mr.  Jackson  his  interest  in  the  concern,  and  the  firm  became  Mil- 
lard &  Whitman.  They  conducted  the  business  until  1874,  when 
Norman  L,  Millard  purchased  the  interest  of  Henry  S.  Millard^ 
when  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Whitman  &  Millard.  In 
1882  Mr.  Whitman  sold  out  to  his  partner,  and  N.  L.  Millard  be- 
came the  sole  proprietor,  the  business  being  conducted  alone  by 
him  since  that  to  the  present  time. 

H.    T.    CADY's 

Shoe  manufactory  was  established  in  1866  by  Wm.  G.  and  H. 
T.  Oady,  under  the  firm  name  of  Oady  Bros.,  who  continued  the 
business  until  1880,  when  H.  T.  became  sole  owner. 

W.    G.    CADY    &   CO. 

Was  established  in  1883,  by  W.  G.  Oady  and  S.  H.  Fairfield,  under 
the  above  name.  They  manufacture  gents'  and  ladies'  fine  sewed 
shoes. 

WHITMAN,    CANEDY   &   CO. 

Was  established  in  1884,  by  W.  H.  Whitman,  Monroe  Canedy  and 
W.  J.  Wilkinson.     They  also  manufacture  gents'  sewed  shoes. 

SAMPSON   MANUFACTURING   COMPANY. 

The  foundations  of  the  Sampson  Manufacturing  Co.  were  laid  in 
1850,  when  George  C.  Millard  bought  the  odds  and  ends  of  a  bank- 
rupt manufacturer's  stock  of  boots  and  brogans,  and  0.  T.  Samp- 


84  HISTORY   OF    NORTH    jLDAMS. 

son  was  invited  to  look  it  over  and  undertake  to  sell  it  off.  H© 
took  a  load  in  his  wagon,  made  trips  through  the  adjoining  towns 
and  in  four  days  had  disposed  of  the  load  for  cash  and  butter^ 
making  a  profit  of  125.  He  made  other  trips  with  similar  results 
until  he  had  disposed  of  the  entire  lot.  He  then  sold  his  farm 
in  Stamford,  and  in  1850  moved  his  family  to  this  village  with  the 
idea  of  engaging  in  business,  having  now  saved  about  $300.  April 
24,  1851,  he  obtained  three  month's  credit  of  Boston  parties  on  a 
small  stock  of  goods.  He  carried  his  goods  from  house  to  house 
in  a  valise,  and  in  less  than  ten  days  had  sold  them  all  out.  On 
the  18th  of  the  following  November  he  oj)ened  a  store  which  he 
carried  on  for  a  retail  trade  until  1858,  passing  successfully  through 
the  financial  crisis  of  1857.  He  then  sold  out  his  retail  business 
and  began  manufacturing  in  a  small  way,  jobbing  his  own  goods 
with  those  of  other  manufacturers.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  war 
he  had  accumulated  about  $16,000.  He  lost,  however,  considerably 
from  Southern  debtors  and  became  seriously  embarassed,  soon,, 
however,  regaining  a  substantial  foothold.  Between  18G8  and 
1870,  began  Mr.  Sampson's  conflict  with  the  labor  organization,, 
known  as  ^'Knights  of  St.  Crispin."  He  discharged  some  of  the 
members  whom  he  knew  to  be  active  in  the  organization,  and  sent 
to  North  Brookfield  for  other  help.  He  engaged  forty-five  men 
on  explicit  terms,  but  they  were  soon  prevailed  upon  by  the  Cris-^ 
pins  to  throw  up  their  contracts.  He  therefore  resorted  to  the 
novel  expedient  of  employing  Chinese  labor  in  his  factory,  pro- 
curing a  number  from  San  Francisco.  Seventy-five  were  at  first 
hired,  and  they  arrived  here  on  the  13th  of  June,  1870,  amid  con- 
siderable excitement.  The  number  was  afterwards  increased  tO' 
123,  who  remained  here  about  ten  years.  This  completely  broke 
up  the  Crispins  society  in  this  section,  and  in  fact  in  the  whole 
country.  The  firm  now  turn  out  about  fifty  cases  of  shoes  per 
week,  giving  employment  to  350  hands. 

XORTH    ADAMS    IRON    COMPANY. 

In  1845  the  iron  interest  being  very  prosperous  and  rapidly 
developing,  the  whole  region  of  the  country  around  North  Adams 
was  prospected  in  search  of  iron  ore.  In  the  spring  of  1846,^ 
Nelson  H.  Stevens,  of  Eichmond  obtained  leases  of  several  ore 
beds  in  Adams  and  vicinity,  and  purchased  at  a  cost  of  $6,000  the 
Hodge  and  Dean  Tannery  near  Main  street  bridge  in  this  village,, 
and  also  leased  at  an  annual  rent  of  $200,  a  ten  horse-power  of 
James  E.  Marshall,  who  then  owned  the  Phoenix  mill.  During^ 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  1846,  Mr.  Stevens,,  in  connection  with 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH     ADAMS.  85 

Seneca  Pettee,  erected  a  blast  furnace  on  the  above  premises  at  a 
cost  of  about  $6,000,  for  the  manufacture  of  the  best  quality  of 
charcoal  pig  iron.  The  business  was  commenced  in  December  of 
that  year. 

During  the  session  of  the  general  court  in  the  winter  of  1847,  a 
charter  was  obtained,  and  the  stockholders  were  incorporated  un- 
der the  name  of  the  North  Adams  Iron  Company,  Mr.  Stevens 
having  previously  sold  one-fourth  of  his  interest  to  Rodman  H. 
Wells,  one-fourth  to  J.  N.  Chapin,  and  one-eighth  to  Charles  K. 
Bingham.  The  valuation  of  the  whole  property  was  $32,000  for 
the  furnace  and  fixtures,  stock  of  coal,  ore  on  hand,  ore  bed  leases 
and  the  Paul  wood  lot. 

Previous  to  the  formation  of  this  company  L.  C.  Thayer,  AVm. 
Hodgkins  and  J.  Q.  Robinson,  2d,  had  purchased  the  Kingsley  ore 
bed  and  ten  acres  of  land,  situated  on  the  east  road,  about  one 
mile  south  of  the  village,  paying  for  same  $500.  A  lease  was  exe- 
cuted to  the  company  at  twenty-five  cents  per  ton  for  the  privilege 
of  taking  out  the  ore,  on  condition  that  the  furnace  should  be  built 
north  of  said  ore  bed  thus  securing  the  iron  manufacture  to  this 
vicinity. 

Owing  to  the  difficulty  of  smelting  the  ores,  the  enterprise  did 
not  succeed  well  for  the  first  year,  but  afterwards,  on  procuring 
different  ores,  successful  blasts  were  made,  averaging  from  1,600  to 
1,800  pounds  per  blast,  and  about  five  tons  of  pig  iron  per  day. 
The  iron  was  sold  by  the  shrewd  negotiation  of  Mr.  Wells  as  high 
as  135  and  $40  per  ton. 

Abouts  1848  or  ^49  the  original  proprietors  disposed  of  their  in- 
terests and  the  business  passed  into  other  hands,  James  E.  Mar- 
shall was  for  several  years  interested  and  its  chief  manager.  The 
principal  ore  beds  failing  in  their  production,  however,  the  price 
of  iron  declining  to  about  $20  per  ton,  and  from  other  causes,  the 
company  suspended,  and  went  into  insolvency  in  1858.  The  panic 
of  1857  delt  it  a  mortal  blow  and  the  fires  were  extinguished  the 
year  following. 

In  July,  1858,  the  furnace  and  all  its  fixtures  passed  by  assignee's 
sale  into  the  hands  of  Jno.  A.  Beckley,  of  Canaan,  Ct.,  a  practical 
iron  manufacturer.  Under  his  supervision  the  furnace  yielded 
from  six  to  eight  tons  of  excellent  pig  iron  per  day.  Most  of  the 
ore  being  brought  from  the  southern  part  of  the  county  and  from 
Connecticut. 

During  the  early  days  of  the  war  this  firm  secured  a  government 
contract  to  furnish  iron  for  the  construction  of  war  ships.  The 
iron  clad  '*  Monitor"  was  made  wholly  from  iron  furnished  from 


86  HISTORY   OF   KORTH    ADAMS. 

this  furnace.  The  product  gave  such  splendid  satisfaction  that 
they  were  at  once  awarded  a  larger  contract.  In  the  spring  of  1862, 
while  they  were  preparing  for  a  fulfillment  of  the  contract,  the 
works  caught  fire,  were  burned  to  the  ground  and  never  rebuilt. 

TANNERIES. 

The  first  tannery  established  in  this  village  was  located  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  south  branch  of  the  river  nearly  opposite  Hodge's 
grist  mill.  It  was  first  known  as  the  Luther  Bartlett,  and  after- 
wards as  the  Hodge  and  Dean  tannery.  A  large  business  was  done 
for  many  years,  especially  while  it  was  owned  by  Hodge  and  Dean» 
It  was  discontinued  in  1846,  when  the  property  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  North  Adams  Iron  Company. 

In  1831,  Messrs.  Merriam,  Hatch  and  W.  D.  S.  Hurlbut,  pur- 
chased of  Turner  and  Laflin  for  $200  the  lot  and  water  privilege 
on  Union  street,  and  erected  a  building  30x76  feet  for  a  tannery. 
After  carrying  on  the  business  for  three  years,  they  sold  the  prop- 
erty to  Captain  A.  Bixby.  It  was  leased  for  about  three  years  iu 
part  by  Captain  Hatch  for  a  batting  mill,  and  in  part  by  Elijah 
Pike,  as  a  stone  cutting  shop.  In  1837,  Liberty  Bartlett,  formerly 
of  Williamstown,  rented  the  premises  for  two  years,  carrying  on 
the  tannery  in  connection  with  the  pelt  business,  pulling  some 
16,000  skins.  In  1839  A.  C.  Crandall  leased  the  property  and 
carried  on  the  business  about  one  year.  In  1840  Ira  Bennett  formed 
a  co-partnership  with  Mr.  Crandall,  and  they  continued  the  busi- 
ness until  1842.  Captain  Bixby  sold  the  real  estate  to  Charles 
Taylor,  of  Hancock,  who  carried  on  the  business  with  Mr.  Bennett 
until  the  fall  of  1843,  when  Alfred  Olds  purchased  all  of  Mr. 
Taylor's  interest  and  continued  the  business  with  Mr.  Bennett  for 
three  years.  Mr.  B.  retired  in  1846  and  Mr.  Olds  continued  the 
business  until  his  decease  in  1851.  In  that  year  the  premises 
were  leased  of  the  administrators  by  Messrs.  Crandall  &  Bennett, 
and  these  gentlemen  formed  a  co-partnership  with  A.  P.  Butler, 
who  at  that  time  owned  the  Eagle  Bridge  tannery.  These  gentle- 
men operated  both  establishments  on  joint  account  until  1854  or 
^55.  At  this  time  Dean  &  Bellows  purchased  the  Olds  tannery  and 
began  to  enlarge.  Bellows  retired  in  1856,  and  in  the  same  year 
Crandall  and  Bennett  purchased  equal  shares  in  with  Messrs.  S.  E. 
&  H.  N.  Dean,  at  the  same  time  selling  them  one-half  the  Eagle 
Bridge  tannery,  making  a  joint  interest  in  both  establishments. 
The  business  was  conducted  under  their  management  until  1859, 
when  Crandall  and  Bennett  bought  out  the  interest  of  Messrs. 
Dean,  and  sold  one-third  the  real  and  personal  estate  to  A.  P.  But- 


HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  87 

ler.  The  firmVas  known  as  Crandall,  Bennett  &  Co.,  their  annual 
product  being  about  $45,000,  principally  card  leather. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Butler  in  1869,  Mr.  Read  bought 
his  interest  from  the  heirs,  and  also  A.  C.  CrandalFs  in- 
terest. In  1871  Mr.  Jonathan  Brooks  bought  in,  and  later  D.  J. 
Barber  also  purchased  an  interest.  The  firm  was  now  known  as 
0.  II.  Read  &  Co.  In  1875  Mr.  Barber  bought  Mr.  Read's  inter- 
est, firm  Brooks  &  Barber,  and  when  Mr.  Brooks  died  in  1875  Mr» 
Barber  purchased  his  interest  from  the  heirs.  The  firm  is  known 
now  as  D.  J.  Barber. 

In  1843  Benjamin  Dean  bought  the  house  and  lot  adjoining 
Eagle  bridge  for  $700,  and  erected  a  building  34x40  feet  for  a  tan- 
nery. In  1844  he  sold  the  premises  to  S.  M.  Dean  who  carried  on 
the  business  until  1847,  when  Ira  Bennett  bought  the  property. 
He  soon  sold  it  to  L.  Bartlett  and  A.  P.  Butler  for  $3,000,  who 
conducted  the  business  until  1850.  In  1851  Mr.  Butler  formed  a 
copartnership  with  Crandall  &  Bennett,  and  both  tanneries  were 
carried  until  1855,  when  Mr.  Butler  sold  his  entire  interest  to 
Crandall  &  Bennett.  In  1856  S.  E.  &  H.  N.  Dean,  of  South 
Adams,  became  part  owners  and  so  continued  until  1859,  when  the 
property  passed  into  the  hands  of  Smith  &  Amidon,  and  was  dis- 
continued as  a  tannery. 


PROMINENT  CITIZENS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 


CAPTAIIN  JEREMIAH  COLGROVE  was  born  in  Rhode 
Island  in  1758.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  blacksmith.  He 
was  drafted  into  the  Revolutionary  army  at  the  age  of  21,  where 
he  served  for  two  or  three  years  as  a  minute-man  or  coast  guard. 
Nearly  all  this  time  he  was  employed  as  an  armorer  or  gunsmith. 
His  father  and  three  brothers  were  in  some  hard  fights  at  Newport, 
and  lie  burned  to  be  in  the  thickest  of  the  fray,  but  duty  forbad. 
He  never  knew  the  meaning  of  the  word  ''fear."  Many  stories  are 
related  of  his  iron  nerve  and  presence  of  mind  in  times  of  extreme 
danger.  He  was  about  six  feet  tall,  finely  proportioned,  athletic, 
nimble  and  ready  to  lead  off  in  any  emergency.  He  employed  a 
^reat  number  of  men,  and  some  of  them  were  absolute  giants.  He 
never  asked  any  one  to  do  more  work  than  liimself.  His  word  of 
command  was  ''come  on"  not  "go  on,"  but  his  personal  bearing 
and  the  expression  of  his  eyes  were  in  themselves  commanding. 
He  was  quick  in  decision,  prompt,  persevering  and  thorough  in 
action.  Captain  Colgrove  emigrated  to  Charlton,  Worcester 
county,  in  1784,  following  his  trade  as  a  blacksmith  there  for  ten 
years.  He  made  a  visit  to  this  town  in  1793,  was  struck  with  its 
immense  water  power  and  moved  here  in  the  following  year.  His 
business  enterprises  for  several  years  have  already  been  mentioned; 
his  foresight  and  keen  practical  judgment  were  of  more  service  in 
developing  the  resources  of  the  town  than  in  enriching  himself. 
That  lie  "could  see  farther  into  a  millstone"  than  many  around 
him  is  proven  by  a  remark  often  made  to  his  wife,  who  sometimes 
repined  at  the  frowning  mountains  and  the   rough,  uncultivated 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  89 

^appearance  of  the  country.  '*Ah,"  he  would  say,  ^'don't  fret,  tliis 
will  be  a  city  yet;  such  water  power  wasn't  made  for  nothing.'* 
€aptain  Colgrove  gained  his  military  title  prior  to  1800,  and  held 
it  until  in  1806  his  son  received  the  same  commission.  He  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  was  a  terror  to 
evil-doers.  He  held  several  petty  town  offices,  and  might  have 
held  more  but  for  his  unpopular  political  sentiments.  He  was  an 
ardent,  outspoken  Federalist,  while  the  town  was  very  strongly 
Democratic,  giving  a  majority  of  over  100  in  some  250  votes.  He 
performed  the  hazardous  duty  of  challenger  at  the  polls  and  was  a 
great  tactician,  or  ^^wire-puller"  as  it  would  now  be  called.  He 
could  fathom  all  the  designs  of  his  opponents,  and  his  council  and^ 
aid  were  continually  sought  by  the  Federalists  of  this  county.  His 
natural  penetration  and  fertility  of  mind  more  than  supplied  the 
lack  of  early  education.  He  was,  in  short,  one  of  nature's  truest 
noblemen,  a  sincere  Christian,  though  not  a  church  member ; 
spotless  in  moral  character  and  integrity,  of  frank  hospitality  and 
great  benevolence  to  the  sick  and  unfortunate.  He  gave  them  his 
personal  attention  and  substantial  aid  no  matter  how  pressing  his 
private  business.  In  times  of  trouble  his  political  enemies  (he 
had  no  other)  would  go  to  him  sooner  than  to  many  of  their  own 
partizans,  for  he  was  trusty,  sympathizing,  a  man  of  his  word  in 
all  things  and  a  whole-souled  friend. 

PROTECTION   TO   A   FUGITIVE   SLAVE. 

About  the  year  1802  a  oolored  woman,  who  had  fled  from 
slavery  in  the  state  of  New  York,  came  to  this  village  closely  pur- 
sued by  some  kidnappers  from  Hoosick  or  that  vicinity.  She  was 
directed  to  Captain  Colgrove,  whose  warm  sympathy  with  misfor- 
tune, ready  faculty  for  circumventing  rascals,  great  physical 
strength  and  unshrinking  courage  made  him  conspicuous.  She 
ran  to  his  door  crying  :  "  For  God's  sake  save  me  I"  Her  under  lip 
was  torn  and  a  large  wound  was  bleeding  on  the  side  of  her  face. 
Her  pursuers  were  in  sight  and  rapidly  approaching  over  Furnace 
hill.  Captain  Colgrove  took  the  poor  creature  by  the  hand,  led 
her  quickly  though  his  house,  across  his  garden  and  into  the  grist 
mill,  then  standing  where  now  stands  the  mill  of  M.  D.  &  A.  W. 
Hodge.  He  ordered  the  mill  to  be  stopped  and  told  his  faith- 
ful miller.  Captain  Ray,  not  to  allow  the  gate  to  be  hoisted  by 
anybody  till  further  orders.  He  then  secreted  the  panting  fugitive 
in  the  water  wheel,  which  was  a  kind  of  undershot.  Returning  to 
his  house,  the  kidnappers  soon  came  there  and  demanded  that  he 
•should  give  up  the  negro  woman,  whom  they  had  seen  enter  there 


90  HISTORY    OF    XORTH    ADAMS. 

a  few  moments  before.  He  replied  that  they  might  find  her  if 
they  could.  They  searched  the  house  from  cellar  to  attic,  -then 
the  woodshed,  and  lastly  the  mill  very  thoroughly.  Though  they 
looked  at  the  water  wheel,  they  were  in  such  a  hurry  or  in  so  tipsy 
a  condition  that  they  did  not  discover  the  woman.  They  departed,, 
blustering  and  blaspheming  furiously,  to  imbibe  at  the  Black 
tavern  something  that  would  give  them  '^Dutch  courage.'^  Still 
entertaining  suspicions  of  Captain  Colgrove,  this  ungodly  squad 
again  visited  his  house  and  attempted  to  bully  him  into  a  confes- 
sion, threatening  to  search  his  house  a  second  time.  They  wera 
boldly  met  and  refused,  the  Captain  telling  them  that  one  search 
was  sufficient,  and  if  they  entered  his  premises  again  it  would  be 
across  his  dead  body.  They  looked  at  his  stalwart  form,  quailed  at 
his  flashing  eye  and  ingloriously  backed  out.  In  the  meantime  the 
hunted  fugitive  had  been  taken  from  the  water  wheel  and  secreted 
in  the  tool  room  up  stairs.  Another  search  being  expected.  Cap- 
tain Ray,  in  order  to  ward  off  the  suspicion  which  might  arise  by 
the  mill  being  stopped  so  long,  removed  the  hopper  and  busied 
himself  sharpening  up  the  millstones.  The  miserable  slave  hunt- 
ing scamps  were  scared  out  of  a  second  search,  and  after  dark  the 
poor  fugitive  was  conveyed  to  the  house  of  John  Waterman  (also  a 
warm  friend  of  the  unfortunate),  a  short  distance  south  of  the  vil- 
lage, where  she  lived  about  three  years.  The  savage  wounds  on 
her  lip  never  completely  healed,  but  were  speaking  testimonials 
against  the  heathenish  system  from  which  she  fled. 

Captain  Colgrove  died  in  this  village  August  26th,  1837,  aged  79 
years.  His  estimable  wife  survived  him  about  fourteen  years.  Her 
maiden  name  was  AVaterman,  and  she  was  an  aunt  of  AVilliam 
Waterman  of  Williamstown.  Her  marriage  took  place  in  1782, 
and  for  the  last  few  years  of  her  life  she  enjoyed  a  pension  from 
the  Federal  government  for  the  Revolutionary  services  of  her  hus- 
band. 

GILES  TINKER. 

It  is  not  too  much  to  claim  that  our  village  and  its  present  inter- 
ests are  heavily  indebted  to  the  energy,  skill,  industry  and  indom- 
itable perseverence  of  such  men  as  Giles  Tinker,  Artemas  Critten- 
den, Rufus  Wells,  Thomas  Higgenbottom,  Caleb  B.  Turner, 
Stephen  B.  Brown  and  Duty  S.  Tyler,  as  well  as  others  previously 
mentioned. 

Giles  Tinker  was  a  mechanic,  and  one  of  uncommon  ingenuity 
and  power  of  mind  considering  the  times  in  which  he  lived  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  he  commenced  and  carried  on  business.. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  91' 

He  was  born  in  Lyme,  Conn.,  and  in  1802,  at  the  age  of  21,  he  came- 
to  reside  in  this  small  village  of  twenty-five  houses. 

Mr.  Tinker  commenced  the  manufacture  of  wool  carding 
machines  with  no  previous  experience.  The  first  one  he  con- 
structed in  some  portion  of  the  premises  of  David  Estes,  on  River 
street.  That  indispensable  mechanic,  Joseph  Darby,  performed, 
the  iron  work.  All  portions  of  the  machine  which  could  be  so 
constructed  were  made  of  wood. 

Mr.  Tinker  and  Captain  E.  Eichmond  formed  a  copartnership 
in  1804  for  the  manufacture  of  carding  machines,  occupying  a 
building  on  the  west  side  of  Bank  street,  near  the  corner  of  Main. 
Afterwards  each  worked  on  his  own  account  in  the  same  shop. 

In  1805  Mr.  Tinker  married  the  daughter  of  Richard  Knight,  a 
wealthy  farmer,  w^ho  owned  and  occupied  the  Daniel  Wells  place^ 
in  Braytonville. 

In  1809  he  purchased  the  house  and  lot,  embracing  some  two. 
acres  or  more,  fronting  on  Main  street  from  Bank  to  J.  H.  Adams' 
block.     The  price  paid  was  12000. 

In  1811,  when  the  spirit  of  enterprise  in  the  cotton  manufacture 
had  begun  to  spread  from  Rhode  Island,  its  first  seat  in  this  coun- 
try, a  company  was  formed  by  the  citizens  of  this  and  adjoining 
towns  for  the  erection  of  the  ^'old  brick  factory.*'  Mr.  Tinker 
and  Captain  E.  Richmond  were  shareholders,  and  a  contract  was. 
made  with  them  to  construct  the  necessary  machinery.  The  con- 
tract embraced  all  the  improvements  extant  for  cotton  machinery 
— the  spinning  frames  and  mules,  but  not  the  picker  or  power 
loom,  which  were  then  unknown.  The  usual  terms  were  to  build 
at  so  much  per  spindle,  including  preparation.  The  job  was  taken, 
by  Tinker  &  Richmond  at  $16  per  spindle,  amounting  to  about 
$7000,  and  affording  a  net  profit  to  the  contractors  of  about  12000. 

In  1822  Estes  &  Crittenden,  who  were  engaged  in  manufacturing 
satinets  in  the  old  mill  on  River  street,  paid  10  cents  per  yard  for 
the  hand  weaving  of  satinets.  About  this  time  Mr.  Tinker,  being 
desirous  of  testing  the  power  loom,  made  arrangements  to  try  the 
operation  of  one  in  this  mill.  He  went  to  North  Providence,  R. 
I.,  and  procured  a  power  loom  all  fitted  up.  This  was  the  first 
satinet  power  loom  ever  brought  into  Western  Massachusetts. 

Soon  afterwards  he  introduced  the  first  cotton  power  loom  for 
the  Eagle  factory,  which  factory  in  1813  he,  with  four  other  gen- 
tlemen, had  erected  and  put  in  operation. 

In  1815  he  sold  his  interest  in  this  mill  and  engaged  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  as  silent  partner,  with  W.  E.  Brayton.  This  con- 
tinued till  1822,  Mr.  Tinker  still  carrying  on  his  machine  shop.. 


'92  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

In  1826  he  was  connected  with  E.  D.  Whitaker  in  merchandizing. 

In  1820  he  was  commissioned  as  captain  of  the  military  company 
here. 

In  1825,  the  business  of  his  machine  shop  had  so  increased,  he 
purchased  of  Captain  J.  Colgrove  the  old  grist  mill  and  water 
privilege  and  erected  a  building  on  the  site  now  owned  and  occu- 
pied by  M.  D.  &  A.  W.  Ilodge  as  a  grist  mill. 

In  1829  he  erected  for  his  own  residence  a  building  on  the  east 
corner  of  Main  and  Bank  streets,  which  in  later  years  was  known 
•as  the  '^Kimbell  homestead, ''  and  is  at  present  the  site  of  the 
Adams  National  Bank. 

In  the  fall  of  1832  Mr.  Tinker's  health  began  to  fail  from  close 
application  to  his  business  and  from  the  effects  of  a  severe  cold 
contracted  by  exposure  in  water  while  making  repairs.  He  showed 
marked  symptoms  of  consumption.  By  the  advice  of  physicians 
-and  friends  he  concluded  to  winter  at  St.  Augustine,  Fla.,  hoping 
for  improvement,  if  not  restoration,  in  that  genial  climate.  He 
left  home  in  good  spirits,  and  was  accompanied  from  Troy  by  a 
gentleman  going  out  for  the  same  purpose.  Upon  the  passage  he 
either  took  cold  or  the  salt  air  was  too  bracing  for  him,  as  he  com- 
plained of  feeling  more  unwell  upon  his  arrival,  which  was  Christ- 
mas day.  His  death  was  as  sudden  as  it  was  afflicting  to  his  family 
•and  friends.  While  leaning  back  in  his  chair  on  the  1st  of  Janu- 
ary, 1833,  his  friend,  being  absent  from  the  room  a  moment,  heard 
•a  heavy  fall  upon  the  floor.  On  entering  he  found  that  Mr. 
Tinker  had  fallen  over  backwards.  Being  asked  if  he  was  hurt, 
he  replied  :  *^  Not  much."  He  never  spoke  again.  He  died  the 
same  day,  in  the  52nd  year  of  his  age. 

Mrs.  Tinker  did  not  survive  the  sudden  shock  of  her  husband's 
•death  but  a  short  time.     She  died  February  27,  1833. 

DEACOX    ARTEMAS    CRITTENDEN 

was  born  in  Conway,  this  state,  and  at  a  proper  age  learned  the 
•^clothier's  trade.  In  1810  he  removed  to  this  village  and  worked  at 
his  trade  for  Captain  Colgrove.  In  1813  he  erected  the  first  fac- 
tory at  Blackinton.  It  was  a  wooden  structure  25  by  60  feet,  three 
stories  high.  It  was  intended  for  the  manufacture  of  satinets  and 
■all-wool  cloth,  in  part  by  machinery,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been 
the  first  mill  of  the  kind  erected  in  this  county.  Wool  carding 
and  cloth  dressing  was  also  carried  on  in  this  mill.  About  1817 
Mr.  Crittenden  sold  all  his  interests  to  John  Willey,  who  sold  the 
.property  to  Aaron  Foot  in  1821.  Mr.  Crittenden  removed  to 
Pownal,  Vt.,  and  engaged  in  the  same  business  on  a  limited  scale. 


HISTORY   OF  NORTH    ADAMS.  93; 

About  1819  he  returned  to  tliis  village  and  rented  the  clothing 
works  of  Captain  Colgrove,  doing  quite  a  large  business.     In  1822 
he  formed  a  partnership  with  Evenel  Estes,  and  manufactured 
satinet  in  the  clothing  works  of  David  Estes.     In  1824  they  dis- 
solved partnership,  and  Deacon  Crittenden  run    the   mill  alone 
until  1825,  when  Salmon  Burlingame  became  a  partner,  this  ar- 
arrangement  continuing  for  three  years.    In  182G  Messrs.  Crittenden 
&  Burlingame  purchased  of  Giles  Tinker  a  water  power  in  what 
was  then  termed  the  ^'Gory  lot,''  and  built  a  small  factory  on  the 
site  of  that  in  later  years  owned  and  run  by  Ingalls,  Tyler  &  Co. 
In  1828  Mr.  Burlingame  sold  his  interest  to  his  partner  and  retired 
from  the  firm.     In  1829  Edmond  }^urke  purchased  an  interest  in 
the  establishment.     In  the  same  year  Mr.  Crittenden  sold  his  in-. 
terest  to  William  E.  Brayton,  who  had  aided  him  in  building,  and 
Mr.   Crittenden  removed  to  Turin,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died  about 
1839. 

The  Congregational  society  of  this  village  is  largely  indebted  ta 
Mr.  Crittenden,  one  of  its  first  deacons,  who  was  a  most  active  and 
efficient  workingman  in  the  organization  of  the  church,  and  aided 
to  build  their  house  of  worship. 

RUFUS   WELLS. 

Rufus  Wells,  the  senior  partner  in  the  ''boys'  factory,"  was  born, 
in  Cheshire  in  1799,  and  labored  on  a  farm  until  16  years  old.     He 
then  became  an  apprentice  to  Deacon  Crittenden  and  learned  the 
clothier's  trade.     It  was  while  fellow  apprentices  that  the  three 
young  men,  Messrs.  Wells,  Blackinton  and  White,  formed  that  in- 
timacy which  resulted  in  their  flourishing  partnership.     In  1823 
Mr.   Well^  was  married  to  Miss  Sylvia  Blackinton,  daughter  of 
Deacon  Otis  and  sister  to  Sanford  Blackinton,  who  died  in  a  few 
years.     He  then  married  Harriet  B.  Richards  of  Attleboro.     In 
1844,  while  Mr.  Wells  was  overseeing  some  carpenter  work,  he  was 
standing  near  one  of  the  workmen,  who  was  hewing  logs  with  a 
broad-ax.     The  ax  slipped  from  the  hands  of  the  workman,  struck 
Mr.  Wells  on  the  head  and  inflicted  a  terrible  wound.     He  never- 
recovered    from    the    efl'ects   of    this.      In    1845    he    contracted 
typhoid  fever  and  died  in  about  ten  days,  the  wound  on  his  head 
making  him  a  raving  maniac  during  his  last  sickness.     His  funeral 
attracted  large  crowds  from  all  this  section,  people  coming  from 
as  far  away  as  Providence  in  wagons  to  attend  the  ceremony,  which, 
had  to  be  held  in  the  open  air  because  of  the  crowd.     Mr.   Wella 
was  a  plain,  unostentatious  man,  of  great  industry  and  persever- 
ence,  a  careful  calculator,  and  his  excellent  business  talents  were- 


'S4  HISTORY   OF    NOROH   ADAMS. 

^combined  with  high  moral  integrity,  commanding  the  confidence 
-and  respect  of  the  community.  His  career  was  rather  uneventful, 
as  he  sought  not  to  make  a  figure  in  the  w^orld,  but  to  act  well  his 
.part  in  the  great  drama  of  life. 

HARVEY   ARNOLD. 

Born  in  Adams  June  16,  1806  ;  died  September  4,  1870.  Re- 
•ceived  an  academic  education  at  Wesleyan  Academy,  and  began 
the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Isaac  Hodges,  to  whose  daughter 
he  was  subsequently  married.  Compelled  by  ill  health  to  abandon 
liis  studies,  he  entered  upon  his  career  as  a  manufacturer  in  the 
spring  of  1828,  when  he  associated  himself  with  his  brother  Oliver 
and  Nathan  Blinn,  under  the  firm  name  of  Arnold,  Blinn  &  Co. 
From  this  time  until  his  death  his  business  interests  were  so  closely 
connected  with  his  brother  Oliver  that  it  would  only  be  a  recapitu- 
lation of  that  account  to  write  them. 

OLIVER   ARNOLD 

was  born  in  Natick,  R.  I.,  October  18,  1801.  About  1830  his 
father  moved  his  family  to  this  town,  and  Mr.  Arnold  went  into 
the  employ  of  Alvin  Sanford,  who  made  cotton  and  woolen  ma- 
chinery for  Giles  Tinker.  Here  Mr.  Arnold  remained  about  two 
years,  and  then  entered  into  partnership  with  Isaac  Hodges  and 
Alvin  Sanford  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  goods.  The  former 
was  a  successful  ph3^sician,  and  only  invested  capital. 

The  style  of  the  firm  was  Hodges,  Sanford  &  Co.  They  hired  a 
part  of  the  factory  on  the  Union  privilege,  put  in  fourteen  looms 
•and  the  requisite  machinery  for  caruing  and  spinning.  Here  they 
continued  five  years.  Mr.  Arnold  next  formed  partnership  with 
his  brother  Harvey  and  Nathaniel  Blinn,  under  the  style  of  Arnold, 
Blinn  &  Co.  The  new  firm  bought  out  the  machinery  of  Hodges, 
Sanford  &  Co.,  and  occupied  the  same  premises  for  three  and  a 
half  years.  In  1831  they  purchased  the  mill  privilege  immediately 
^bove  them  and  erected  a  stone  factory,  with  two  main  stories, 
attic  and  basement.  This  mill,  which,  with  alterations  and  addi- 
tions, has  become  a  part  of  the  Eclipse  mill,  was  occupied  in  1832, 
and  their  machinery  was  increased  to  twenty-one  looms.  At  the 
same  time  Edmond  Burke  put  in  an  equal  amount  of  machinery, 
but  did  not  engage  in  the  manufacturing.  Mr.  Blinn  sold  his  in- 
terest in  the  firm  February  28,  1835,  and  the  business  was  con- 
ducted by  the  brothers  Arnold,  under  the  firm  style  of  0.  &  H. 
Arnold.  During  the  same  year  they  purchased  the  machiney  in 
this  mill  belonging  to  Mr.  Burke. 

In  1831  Isaac  Hodges  and  Alvin  Sanford  had  erected  at  thepriv- 


HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS.  96 

ilege  above  them  the  Slater  mill.  In  1836  0.  &  II.  ArDold  bought 
this  mill,  its  owners  having  failed.  They  had  for  some  years  sold 
their  whole  production  to  Turner  &  Laflin,  who  were  carrying  on 
the  Union  Print  Works,  now  owned  and  occupied  by  the  Freeman 
Manufacturing  Company.  In  the  finanicial  crisis  of  1837  Turner 
■&  Laflin  failed.  They  were  largely  indebted  to  0.  &  II.  Arnold, 
and  the  latter  firm  was  compelled  to  go  into  liquidation.  The 
business  was,  however,  soon  started  again  by  their  younger  brother, 
John  F.  Arnold,  who  had  had  charge  of  their  accounts,  and  become 
a  skillful  accountant  and  financier.  The  business  Avas  conducted 
under  the  firm  name  of  John  F.  Arnold  until  1843. 

A  new  partnership  was  formed  August  10th  of  that  year  by  the 
three  brothers,  under  the  style  of  0.  Arnold  &  Co.  In  1844,  the 
Union  Print  Works  being  idle,  the  Arnolds  hired  them.  Jerome 
B.  Jackson  and  Johnson  D.  Stewart  were  in  partnership  as  far  as 
the  printing  department  was  concerned,  the  business  in  which  was 
-carried  on  under  the  style  of  Arnolds,  Jackson  &  Co. 

In  1856  A.  W.  Richardson  &  Co.,  who  were  engaged  in  manu- 
facturing print  cloths  at  the  Eagle  mill,  bought  the  Union  Print 
Works  property  from  James  E.  Marshall,  and  entered  into  a  five 
years'  contract  with  0.  Arnold  &  Co.,  under  which  they,  in  con- 
nection with  Richardson  &  Co.,  were  to  supply  the  Print  Works 
with  cloths,  each  firm  to  share  in  the  profits  pro  rata  of  the  cloths 
supplied  by  them,  and  equally  as  to  cloths  purchased  from  outside 
firms.  In  June,  1856,  Abiel  P.  Butler  purchased  from  the 
assignees  of  Joseph  L.  White  all  the  land  now  covered  by  M.  D.  & 
A.  W.  Hodges^  grist  mill,  Arnold  Print  Works  and  Sampson's  shoe 
shop.  lie  soon  sold  an  interest  of  one-half  to  0.  Arnold  &  Co., 
and  they  on  the  5tli  of  August  sold  one-half  of  their  interest  to 
Willard  S.  Ray.  A  partnership  was  formed  under  the  firm  style  of 
A.  P.  Butler  &  Co.  A  factory  was  erected  and  furnished  with  one 
hundred  looms  and  the  subsidiary  machinery.  Mr.  Butler  sold  his 
interest  to  Jerome  B.  Jackson  August  23,  1858,  and  the  firm 
became  changed  to  Jerome  B.  Jackson  &  Co.  May  1,  1860,  Mr. 
Jackson  sold  his  interest  to  0.  Arnold  &  Co.,  the  style  of  the  firm 
being  changed  to  Arnolds  &  Ray.  In  1860  the  Messrs.  Arnolds 
•erected  on  the  northern  part  of  tlie  property,  buildings  for  a  print 
works  to  be  under  their  sole  ownership  and  control.  They 
were  finished  and  ready  to  start  at  the  expiration  of  their  contract 
with  Richardson  &  Co.,  in  1861. 

May  28,  1873,  the  factory  building  of  Arnolds  &  Ray,  which 
had  been  known  as  the  Phoenix  mill,  was  sold  to  M.  D.  &  A.  W. 


96  HISTORY   OF    NORTH    ADAMS. 

Hodge,  and  lias  since  been  used  as  a  flouring  mill.     The  firm  of 
Arnolds  &  Kay  was  at  this  time  dissolved. 

DUTY    S.    TYLER 

was  born  at  South  Adams,  March  27,  1799.  In  common  with  all 
the  youths  of  that  day  he  enjoyed  very  limited  means  of  education. 
Being  habituated  to  industry  and  self-reliance  he  entered  the  brick 
factory  (known  asPlunkett  &  Wheelers,  at  Adams),  about  1820  or 
1821,  as  an  apprentice.  Though  he  began  at  the  lowest  rounds  of 
the  ladder,  he  worked  his  way  upwards,  acquiring  not  only  skill  in 
the  business  but  the  confidence  and  goodwill  of  his  employees  and 
associates.  In  1826  Mr.  Tyler  and  S.  B.  Brown  (his  brother-in- 
law)  hired  the  Turner  mill.  Here  the  young  partners  manufactured 
cotton  striper.  In  1828  they  engaged  with  William  Jenks  in  run- 
ning  the  Caleb  Turner  cotton  mill  of  this  village,  on  a  three  years 
lease,  at  the  expiration  of  which,  in  1831,  the  partnership  was 
dissolved.  In  the  same  year  the  firm  of  Brown  &  Tyler  was  formed,, 
which  existed  for  eight  vears.  (For  particulars  see  Johnson  manu- 
facturning  Company.)  In  1840  Mr.  Tyler  retired  to  his  farm, 
which  embraced  all  the  land  from  the  Western  end  of  the  ceme- 
taries  till  it  joined  that  of  Orson  Wells  in  Braytonville.  In  183& 
he  exchanged  certain  property  with  Mr.  Wells  and  became  joint 
partner  with  Samuel  Ingalls  in  the  Union  Mill.  (See  sketch  of 
that  mill.)  He  was  elected  president  of  the  Adams  National  Bank 
in  1842  and  held  the  office  until  his  resignation  from  ill  health  in 
1857,  about  fifteen  years.  He  united  with  the  Baptist  church  soon 
after  his  removal  to  this  village  in  1828,  and  was  chosen  one  of  its 
deacons  in  1834,  filling  that  station  until  his  jdeath,  August  27, 
1857.  In  his  death  the  church  mourned  the  loss  of  one  of  its  most 
exemplary,  useful,  liberal  and  devoted  members,  while  the  com- 
munity at  large  lost  a  reliable,  practical  and  energetic  business 
man. 

WILLIAM   WALLACE    FREEMAN^ 

was  born  in  Salem,  this  State,  in  the  month  of  June,  1819.  He 
was  the  youngest  of  a  family  of  ten  children.  His  early  business, 
career  was  begun  as  a  merchant  of  his  native  place,  where  he  pros- 
pered for  a  number  of  years.  In  1844  he  was  married  to  Catherine 
Russell.  In  1849,  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Adams,  where  ha 
established  himself  in  a  large  country  store.  He  was  one  of  the 
principal  founders  of  the  old  National  bank,  and  was  for  two  years, 
from  1861  to  '63,  cashier  of  that  institution.  In  1863  Mr.  Free- 
man commenced  his  active  business  life  in  this  village,  which  con- 


HISTORY   OF   KORTH    ADAMS.  97 

tiiiued  till  his  death.  At  remote  intervals  for  many  years,  Mr. 
Freeman  was  troubled  with  affections  of  the  heart,  which  resulted 
fatally  on  the  9th  of  October,  1881. 

For  a  recapitulation   of  Mr.   Freeman's  business    interests  see 
article  on  Freeman  Print  Works. 

WILLIAM    E.    BRaYTON, 

Born  in  Ehode  Island  in  1789,  came  to  this  town  in  1812.  At 
first  he  worked  in  one  of  the  mills  as  an  operative,  until  he  had 
saved  enough  to  start  in  the  mercantile  business  in  a  small  way. 
In  company  with  others  he,  in  1813,  built  the  old  Eagle  factory,, 
which  was  the  second  cotton  mill  erected  in  town.  In  182G  he  re- 
ceived the  appointment  of  postmaster,  which  he  held  for  a  period 
of  twenty-three  years.  That  his  service  was  satisfactory  to  the 
public  at  large  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  he  held  the  office 
through  the  administration  of  six  presidents,  four  of  whom  he  was 
opposed  to  in  political  sentiments,  he  being  a  whig,  though  not  an 
active  politician.  In  company  with  his  brother  Thomas,  in  1631 
he  built  the  Braytonville  mill  where  he  continued  until  1863.  He 
died  in  1865  after  a  most  useful  life  at  the  age  of  76  years. 

CALEB   B.    TURNER 

Was  born  in  Cranston,  R.  I.,  July  7,  1789.  In  1820  he  removed 
to  this  village,  and  in  connection  with  his  brother  Gershom,  leased 
the  Eagle  factory,  which  had  laid  idle  for  several  years.  Just  be 
fore  the  expiration  of  their  lease,  in  1823,  the  brothers  dissolved 
partnership,  and  divided  the  profits,  $1,500  to  each.  With  this 
money  Mr.  Turner  purchased  the  factory  and  machinery,  includ- 
ing the  water-power  and  land  where  the  Gould  mill  stood,  and  a 
saw  mill  which  stood  near,  all  for  the  sum  of  $2,000. 

Being  a  man  of  close  observation,  keen,  astute  perception, 
sound  judgment  and  determined  will,  he  was  ever  ready  to  investi- 
gate and  adopt  the  modern  improvements.  He  kept  pace  with 
the  spirit  of  the  times,  and  filled  the  Eagle  mill  with  a  complete 
set  of  machinery,  including  about  twenty,  power  looms.  In  1826 
he  built  what  was  known  as  the  Gould  mill,  placing  in  it  twenty 
looms,  and  manufactured  sheetings.  In  1826  he  built  a  brick  store 
on  the  corner  of  Union  and  Eagle  streets.  In  1828  he  leased  his 
mills,  dwellings  and  store  to  l>rown,  Jenks  &  Tyler  for  three 
years.  In  1828  he  purchased  the  furnace  then  belonging  to  Otis 
Hodge,  Jr.,  and  the  land  now  occupied  by  the  Freeman  Print 
Works,  and  erected  first  a  small  building  adjoining  the  furnace, 
nd  the  next  year  commenced  the  printing  of  cloths.     This  was 


98  HISTORY   OF   KOKTH    ADAMS. 

the  first  print  works  in  the  county,  and  probably  the  first  in  West- 
ern Massachusetts. 

In  1831  Mr.  Turner  took  in  Walter  Laflin  as  a  joint  partner  in 
real  and  personal  estate.  Just  before  this  partnership  was  formed 
Mr.  Turner  met  with  a  serious  loss  by  fire  ;  a  portion  of  his  print 
works  and  goods  were  destroyed,  the  loss  being  estimated  at  $8000. 
Turner  &  Laflin  erected  the  main  brick  building  of  the  present 
Freeman  Print  Works,  and  carried  on  a  very  extensive  business 
until  1837. 

In  1832  they  gave  the  land  for  Union  street,  which  was  then 
opened,  and  $200  toward  building  the  lower  bridge.  In  1832  they 
built  a  furnace  on  Union  street  and  carried  on  machine  making 
for  their  own  use  and  for  sale. 

In  the  general  crash  and  suspension  of  financial  matters  of  1837 
the  firm  failed.  After  his  failure  Mr.  Turner  followed  merchan- 
dizing. He  died  December  17,  1858,  of  paralysis.  He  did  more 
than  any  other  man  at  an  early  period  to  develop  by  pi:actical 
effort  the  cotton  manufacture  in  this  village,  and  he  was  the  pio- 
neer in  cotton  printing. 

SYLVANDER  JOHNSON 

was  born  in  Stafford,  Conn.,  February  2,  1815.  At  the  age  of  14 
he  went  as  one  of  the  hands  in  a  cotton  mill  at  Chicopee,  where  he 
remained  five  years.  He  then  came  to  this  town,  where  he  worked 
■about  four  years  more  in  the  cotton  mill  at  the  Beaver,  after  which 
he  went  into  the  store  there  as  clerk.  Here  he  remained  until 
1837,  when  he  commenced  business  in  a  small  way  for  himself  at 
South  Adams.  In  1849  he  sold  his  interests  there  to  W.  W.  Free- 
man and  removed  to  Copake,  N.  Y.,  and  engaged  in  the  furnace 
business.  This  new  business  being  unsuited  to  his  taste  it  was 
abandoned  in  less  than  a  year.  In  1850  he  returned  to  this  village 
and  established  a  concern  for  the  manufacture  of  cotton  warps, 
which  business  he  carried  on  successfully  to  the  date  of  his  death. 
He  was  instrumental  in  getting  gas  and  water  in  the  village,  was 
the  principal  mover  in  the  Agricultural  Society  and  was  acknowl- 
edged one  of  the  corner-stones  of  the  town.  He  represented  the 
town  in  the  State  Legislature  in  the  years  1847,  '57,  '59,  '64  and 
'^6,  He  was  chosen  to  the  Governor's  Council  in  1869  and  1870. 
He  was  also  Selectman  of  the  town  for  a  number  of  years.  Mr. 
Johnson's  business  connections  will  be  found  under  the  head  of 
Johnson  Manufacturing  Company. 


HISTORY   OF    NOETH   ADAMS.  99 

AMASA   W.    RICHARDSON 

was  born  in  this  town  March  4,  1816.  In  1833  he  left  his  father's 
farm  and  entered  the  store  of  Edmond  Southwick,  where  he 
remained  one  year  as  a  clerk.  At  the  age  of  20  he  embarked  in 
the  fancy  dry  goods  line,  at  which  he  continued  until  1866.  In 
1849  he  engaged  with  other  parties  in  cotton  manufacturing, 
making  print  cloths  and  printing,  and  was  practically  identified 
with  this  industry  until  1867.  He  then  sold  out  his  entire  interest. 
In  1862  he,  with  other  parties,  built  what  is  known  as  the  Eagle 
mill.  In  1864  he  assisted  in  rebuilding  the  Union  Print  Works. 
He  was  for  five  years  engaged  in  paper  manufacturing  at  South 
Adams.  In  1865,  when  the  gas  works  were  organized,  he  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  the  company  to  working  order.  In  1838 
he  was  married  to  Harriet  M.  Ingraham,  his  wife  dying  in  1854. 
In  1856  he  was  again  married  to  Miss  Esther  Cone  of  Albany,  N. 
Y.     He  died  on  the  4th  of  September,  1883. 

SANFORD   BLACKINTON 

was  born  in  Attleboro,  Mass.,  December  10,  1797.  His  father, 
Otis,  removed  to  this  town  when  Sanford  was  but  2  years  of  age. 
At  his  death  Mr.  Blackinton  was  probably  the  wealthiest  man  in 
town,  his  property  being  variously  estimated.  For  many  years  a 
member  of  the  Baptist  church,  that  society  has  often  been  indebted 
to  him  for  most  generous  contributions,  especially  in  building  the 
present  church  edifice.  It  is  related  of  him  and  his  brothers,  Peter 
and  Noble,  that  they  cleared  the  timber  from  the  low  lands  in  the 
cemetery,  on  the  south  side  of  the  road,  carted  it  to  Blackinton 
and  used  it  to  burn  brick,  which  they  made  themselves  and  built 
the  brick  house  on  what  is  known  as  the  Blackinton  farm.  About 
1865  he  built  the  fine  residence  at  the  head  of  Main  street,  remov- 
ing into  it  from  Blackinton,  which  previous  to  this  had  been  his 
home.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Russell  of  Williamstown,  and  his 
second,  who  survived  him.  Miss  Robinson  of  Attleboro.  He  left 
no  children.  His  death  occurred  on  the  24th  of  July,  1885.  For 
more  than  sixty  years  his  name  was  associated  with  the  manufac- 
turing interests  of  this  town,  a  full  account  of  which  will  be  found 
under  the  heads  of  Blackinton  Woolen  Company  and  North  Adams 
Manufacturing  Company* 

ELISHA  KINGSLEY 

came  to  this  town  from  Swansea,  Mass.,  about  1790,  locating  in 
1810  on  road  23,  where  he  died  in  1849.  Two  sons,  Elisha  and 
Henry  W.,  resided  here,  the  former  living  at  60  Holden  street  and 


100  HISTOKY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

the  latter  occupying  a  farm  adjoining  that  owned  by  his  father. 
Henry  died  very  suddenly  of  heart  disease  in  1884. 

ORSON   WELLS, 

grandson  of  John  Wells,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  Cheshire,  was 
born  in  that  town  in  1795,  and  removed  to  this  town  in  1810, 
engaging  in  the  manufacture  of  acid.  He  married  Zeruah  Phil- 
lips in  1817,  and  had  one  son,  Daniel  M.,  whom  he  associated  with 
himself  in  business.  Mr.  Wells  died  on  the  24th  of  May,  1884,  in 
the  9Gth  year  of  his  age. 

BENJAMIN   CHASE, 

from  Dartmouth,  Mass.,  came  to  this  town  about  1812,  and  cleared 
a  farm  in  the  Notch.  None  of  his  family  of  nine  children  are  now 
living.  One  son,  Joseph,  who  came  here  with  his  father,  resided 
on  the  homestead  until  his  death  in  1837,  at  the  age  of  87  years, 
and  was  the  father  of  eleven  children,  of  whom  Hiram  A.  succeeded 
to  the  old  homestead  on  road  21. 

EZRA    D.    WHITAKER, 

son  of  Ezra,  a  sea  captain,  was  a  merchant  in  the  town  from  1824 
to  1829,  after  which  he  removed  to  Troy,  N.  Y.,  returning  to 
North  Adams  in  about  five  years  and  engaging  in  mercantile  pur- 
suits, which  he  followed  until  about  1858,  when  he  became 
treasurer  of  the  North  Adams  Savings  Bank,  which  office  he 
resigned  October  7,  1872,  after  a  service  of  about  fourteen  years. 
After  this  he  retired  from  active  business,  although  he  is  still  quite 
smart  at  88  years  of  age. 

JOSIAH   QUINCY   ROBINSON 

emigrated  to  Adams  from  Hard  wick,  where  he  remained  from 
1794  to  1828,  when  he  settled  in  North  Adams,  where  he  died  in 
1856,  aged  83  years.  His  son,  Benjamin  F.,  who  was  born  in 
Adams,  coming  thence  to  North  Adams  in  1828,  owns  several 
farms  in  Adams  and  two  in  North  Adams.  He  was  engaged 
in  mercantile  pursuits  until  1845.  He  married  Eliza  B.  Whit- 
man, who  died  in  1853,  rearing  three  children,  two  of  whom, 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Fisher  of  New  York  and  Sarah  Eliza,  wife  of 
George  L.  Rice  of  this  town,  are  still  living. 

DR.    EDWARD   NORMAN. 

Born  in  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  in  1806  ;  removed  to  this  town  in  1830, 
and  opened  the  first  drug  store  in  the  place,  selling  out  in  1859  to 
W.  H.  Griswold  and  Dr.  Lawrence,  both  now  deceased.     Dr.  Nor- 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  101 

man  married  Miss  L.  M.  Putnam,  a  great-granddaughter  of  Gen. 
Israel  Putnam,  by  whom  he  had  two  children — Martha  M.,  wife  of 
Samuel  Keyes,  and  Emily  K.,  wife  of  L.  M.  Hayden.  lie  was  one 
of  the  oldest  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  in  town.  His  death 
occurred  on  May  28,  1874. 

DR.    SETH    N.    BRIGGS 

was  born  at  Rochester,  Vt.,  September  2,  1813,  the  youngest  of 
six  children  of  Enos  and  Lovisa  (Nichols)  Briggs.  He  began  the 
study  of  medicine  in  1832  with  Dr.  Ross  of  Rutland,  and  afterward 
studied  in  Philadelphia.  He  first  begen  practice  in  Starksboro, 
but  in  1840  came  to  this  village,  and  since  that  time  has  continued 
in  practice  here,  being  the  oldest  resident  physician.  His  wife  was 
Sarah  Campbell,  also  of  Rochester,  Vt. 

DR.    NATHAN   S.    BABBITT, 

son  of  Dr.  Snell  Babbitt,  was  born  in  Hancock,  August  30,  1812. 
He  studied  medicine  with  his  father  and  with  Dr.  AVells  of  Wind- 
sor, graduated  from  Williams  College,  began  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine before  20  years  of  age,  and  has  always  practiced  in  Adams  and 
North  Adams.     His  wife  was  Ann  Eliza  Robinson. 

DR,    ELIHU    S.    HAWKES 

was  born  in  Deerfield,  Mass,,  July  25,  1801.  The  first  event  of 
Dr.  Hawkes'  life  which  impressed  itself  powerfully  upon  his  memory 
was  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun  in  1806,  of  which  his  father  took 
advantage  to  teach  him  the  divine  power  through  the  truth  of 
astronomy.  When  he  was  8  years  old  his  father  removed  to  Char- 
lemont,  where  the  educational  advantages  were  so  poor  he  was  sent 
to  live  with  his  uncle.  Dr.  Allen,  in  Buckland.  There  he  remained 
until  he  was  14  years  old,  assisting  his  uncle  out  of  school  hours  in 
compounding  medicines,  and  thus  obtained  some  knowledge  of 
medical  substances.  In  the  spring  of  1821  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Drs.  Clark  and  Smith  of  Ashfield,  Mass., 
who  had  four  other  students.  He  afterwards  changed  his 
instructor  to  Dr.  Winslow  of  Colerain.  In  the  summer  of  1825  he 
took  his  third  course  of  lectures  in  Pittsfield  and  received  his 
degree  of  Doctor  in  Medicine,  which,  as  the  charter  of  the  Berk- 
shire Medical  Institute  then  required,  was  conferred  by  Williams 
College,  and  he  commenced  practice  in  Rowe  in  company  with  Dr. 
Haynes,  whose  daughter  he  married  in  1826.  His  wife  died  three 
years  later,  and  residence  in  Rowe  became  so  painful  to  him  that 
in  1829  he  removed  to  North  Adams,  being  then  29  years  old,  his 


102  HISTORY    OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

father-in-law,  Dr.  Haynes,  coming  with  him.  In  1863  he  removed 
to  Troy  to  engage  in  a  commercial  venture,  which  turned  out  so 
disastrously  that  he  returned  to  this  town  in  a  year  or  two.  No- 
vember 4,  1830,  he  took  for  a  second  wife  Sophia  E.  Abbey,  who 
was  born  in  Natchez,  Miss.,  August  21,  1812.  Dr.  Hawkes  died 
May  17,  1879,  in  his  78th  year. 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 


APRIL  16,  1878,  rhe  old  town  of  Adams  was  divided,  the 
southern  half  retaining-  the  old  na-me  and  the  northern  half 
taking  the  name  of  North  A  ams.  Up  to  this  time  the  two  vil- 
lages had  been  as  twin  sisters,  sharihg  theiv  prosperity  and  adver- 
sity alike.  But  the  south  part  was  growing  so  rapidly  that  the 
fathers  of  the  town  and,  in  fact,  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  of  both 
villages,  were  unanimous  in  the  belief  that  the  division  was  a  very 
advisable  thing.  Since  the  division  both  towns  have  been  pros- 
pered, even  beyond  the  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine,  and  to-day 
are  called  the  smartest  towns  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  and, 
m.  fact,  stand  very  near  if  not  at  the  head  of  the  whole  state  as 
thrifty,  energetic  and  prosperous  settlements. 

For  the  past  few  years  the  town  has  enjoyed  the  benefit  of  a 
brisk  railroad  competition  from  the  roads  centering  here.  This 
superiority  of  North  Adams  as  a  shipping  point  has  effected  a 
marked  change  in  the  method  of  disposing  of  the  production  of 
the  mills.  This  change  includes  the  storage  of  goods  here  under 
the  low  insurance  of  the  Mill  Owners'  Association,  selling  the 
goods  to  the  trade  direct,  thus  keeping  accounts  but  once.  This 
method  contrasts  most  favorably  with  the  old  method,  by  which 
goods  were  sent  to  a  commission  house  as  soon  as  made,  and  insured 
against  fire  at  high  rates,  with  the  possibility  of  total  loss  in  case 
of  great  fires,  as  at  Chicago  and  Boston  ;  the  old  method,  also, 
having  the  disadvantage  that  the  commission  house  might  sell  at  a 
sacrifice  to  get  funds.  The  Arnold  Print  Works  and  the  Freeman 
Manufacturing   Company  have   sold   their  goods  for  some  time 


104  HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS. 

direct  to  customers,  and  in  some  instances  have  shipped  goods  to 
St.  Louis  a  dollar  on  a  hundred  pounds'  weight  cheaper  than  they 
could  be  shipped  to  the  same  point  from  New  York. 

During  the  past  twenty  years  the  growth  of  North  Adams  has 
been  rapid  and  permanent.  In  that  period  it  has  more  than 
quadrupled  in  manufacturing  and  commercial  importance.  One 
illustration  of  its  remarkable  growth  is  afforded  by  the  fact  that 
where  only  one  or  two  mongrel  or  mixed  trains  did  all  the  business 
of  the  day  a  few  years  ago,  there  are  now  many  full-fledged  passen- 
ger, express  and  other  trains  to  do  the  work. 

In  the  summer  of  1884  the  town  of  Nortli  Adams  received  a 
great  impetus  in  the  way  of  building.  Large  brick  business  houses 
were  built,  as  well  as  private  tenements.  On  Main  street  was 
built  the  new  Korth  Adams  Savings  Bank  building,  with  its  hand- 
some granite  front  ;  on  Bank  street  was  built  the  Reardon  and 
Wright  brick  blocks,  with  pressed  brick  and  marble  fronts  ;  on 
State  street  was  erected  the  H.  W.  Clark  block,  for  a  wholesale 
grocery  store,  and  on  Ashland  street  the  shoe  factory  of  Whitman, 
Canedy  &  Co.  During  the  year  there  were  170  new  dwellings 
erected. 

Following  is  the  population  of  the  town  as  per  each  census  since 

1790  to  1880,  inclusive,  showing  the  loss  and  gain  for  each  year: 

1790 2,040      I      1850 6,172 

1800 1,688  1860 6,924 


1810 1,763      i      1870 12,090 

1820 1,836 

1830 2,649 

1840 3.703 


iftftn  )  Adams 5,591 

^®^"  ^  North  Adams 10.191 


In  1885  the  population  of  the  north  village  alone  is  13,540 
inhabitants. 

AID   TO   THE    WAR    OF   THE    REBELLION. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  after  the  war  of  1812  peace  brooded 
over  the  green  hills  and  fertile  valleys  of  the  town.  Youths  had 
grown  to  manhood  and  old  age,  and  now,  as  gray-haired  grand- 
sires,  they  trotted  the  children  on  their  knees  and  rehearsed  to 
them  the  tales  they  loved  best  to  hear — tales  of  the  battles  fought 
and  won.  Each  morn  the  sun  shone  on  a  prosperous,  happy,  con- 
tented people.  But,  alas  I  as  its  rays  wreathed  with  a  glad  smile 
the  mountain  summits  on  the  morn  of  April  12,  1861,  it  awakened 
no  answering  smile  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  The  first  shot  on 
Sumpter  had  frightened  away  the  angel  Peace,  and  grim  war 
usurped  her  place.  The  first  call  for  men  found  the  town  up  and 
ready  and  doing.  Side  by  side  with  her  sister  towns,  she  sent  the 
very  flower  of  her  young  blood  to  endure  the  weary  marches  and 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  105 

the  brunt  of  battle,  and  side  by  side  with  their  sons  to  sleep  the 
long  sleep— some  'neath  the  sun-kissed  plains  of  the  wilful  South, 
some  rocked  in  the  bosom  of  the  broad  Atlantic,  while  others  have 
been  borne  to  rest  among  their  kindred  by  sympathizing  friends, 
"who,  year  by  year,  to  muffled  drum  beat,  wend  their  way  to  their 
-consecrated  tombs  to  deck  their  "couch  of  dreamless  sleep"  with 
the  beautiful  spring  flowers — a  national  tribute  to  a  nation's  hon- 
ored dead. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  many  men  from  this  town  took  part 
in  the  late  war,  as  many  enlisted  in  other  towns,  and  even  in  other 
states.  The  amount  of  money  expended,  however,  by  the  town, 
including  both  villages,  and  exclusive  of  state  aid,  was  $112,103. 
The  number  of  commissioned  officers  furnished  was  thirty-three,  as 
iollows: 

In  the  Eighth  Eegiment,  Infantry,  mustered  in  for  100  days: 

F.  W.  Champney,  age  20,  Second  Lieutenant,  July  IG,  '64  ;  ex- 
piration of  service  Nov.  10,  '64. 

Henry  M.  Lyons,  age  25,  Captain,  July  16,  '64  ;  expiration  of 
service  Nov.  10,  '64. 

Eugene  B.  Richardson,  age  21,  First  Lieutenant,  July  16,  '64  ; 
expiration  of  service  Nov.  10,  '64. 

Tenth  Regiment  Infcmtry — Mustered  in  for  three  years  with  a 
total  of  1,499  men,  90  of  whom  were  killed  in  action  and  83  died 
of  wounds  or  disease: 

Napoleon  P.  A.  Blais,  age  27,  First  Sergeant,  July  21,  '61 ;  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant  June  21,  '62  ;  died  July  11,  '62,  at  Harrison's 
Landing. 

William  H.  Cousins,  age  27,  Sergeant,  June  21,  '61  ;  discharged 
Dec.  21,  '63,  to  re-enlist  Dec.  22,  '63,  as  Sergeant ;  First  Lieuten- 
ant May  22.  '64  ;  transferred  June  20,  '64,  to  Thirty-seventh  In- 
fantry. 

William  F.  Darby,  age  26,  private,  June  21,  '61  ;  commissioned 
:a  Sergeant  in  May,  '62  ;  Second  Lieutenant  Nov.  26,  '62  ;  expira- 
tion of  service  July  1,  '64,  as  Brevet  Captain. 

Lewis  W.  Goddard,  age  40,  Second  Lieutenant,  June  21,  '61 ; 
resigned  Nov.  19,  '61. 

Elisha  Smart,  age  37,  Captain,  June  21,  '61  ;  killed  May  31,  '62, 
■at  Seven  Pines,  Va. 

Samuel  C.  Traver,  age  24,  Fir'st  Lieutenant,  June  21,  '61;  Cap- 
tain June  1,  '62;  cashiered  Nov.  25,  'Q'Z. 

David  W.  Wells,  age  24,  Sergeant,  June  21,  '61;  Second  Lieu- 
tenant Nov.  20,  '61;  First  Lieutenant  June  1,  '62;  resigned  Nov. 
^8,  '62. 


106  HISTORY    OF   KORTH    ADAMS. 

Twentieth  Regiment  Infantry — Mustered  in  for  three  years  ; 
had  a  total  of  3,220  men,  192  of  whom  were  killed  in  action,  and 
192  died  of  wounds  or  disease: 

Ashbel  Eouse,  age  29,  Sergeant,  Dec.  21,  ^63;  Second  Lieuten- 
ant June  1,  '65;  expiration  of  service  July  16,  '65,  as  Sergeant, 

Twenty-seventh  Regiment  Infantry — Mustered  in  for  three 
years;  had  a  total  of  2,103  men,  71  of  whom  were  killed  in  action, 
and  293  died  of  wounds  or  disease: 

Joseph  Ainsley,  age  21,  Sergeant,  Sept.  20,  '61;  discharged  Jan. 

1,  '64,  to  re-enlist  to  same  position;  Captain  May  15,  '65;  expira- 
tion of  service  June  26,  '65,  as  First  Sergeant. 

George  M.  Bowker,  age  30,  First  Lieutenant,  Jan.  21,  '63;  dis- 
charged Feb.  11,  '65. 

William  H.  II.  Briggs,  age  21,  Second  Lieutenant,  Oct.  16,  '61; 
First  Lieutenant  Dec.  7,  '61;  expiration  of  service  Jan.  13,  '65. 

William  M.  Brown,  age  45,  Major,  Sept.  25,  '61;  resigned 
Dec.  6,  '61. 

William  M.  McKay,  age  23,  Second  Lieutenant,  May  29,  '63; 
First  Lieutenant  March  1,  '64;  Captain  May  17,  '64;  Major  May 
15,  '65;  expiration  of  service  June  26,  '65,  as  Captain. 

Charles  D.  Sanford,  age  21,  First  Lieutenant,  Oct.  16,  '61 ;  Cap- 
tain Dec.  7,  '61;  killed  May  16,  '64. 

Miles  Sanford,  age  45,  Chaplain,  Oct.  8,  '61;  resigned  Feb. 
25,  '62. 

Sidney  S.  Terry,  age  22,  Corporal,  Oct.  12,  '61;   Sergeant  Jan. 

2,  '64;  First  Lieutenant  May  5,  '65;  expiration  of  service  July  26, 
'65,  as  Sergeant. 

William  H.  Tyler,  age  30,  First  Lieutenant,  Sept.  17,  '61;  com. 
subsistance  U.  S.  V.  Jan.  1,  '63. 

Thirty-first  Regimetit  Infantry — Total  of  1,781  men  ;  43  killed 
in  action,  147  died  of  wounds  or  disease: 

Lester  M.  Hayden,  age  31,  First  Lieutenant,  Feb.  20,  '62;  Cap- 
tain April  22,  '64;  expiration  of  service  Nov.  18,  '64. 

Thii'ty -fourth  Regiment  Infantry — Mustered  in  for  three  years; 
total  of  1,448  men  ;  8  killed  in  action,  172  died  of  wounds  or 
disease  : 

Henry  J.  Millard,  age  28,  Assistant  Surgeon,  Dec.  30,  '64;  expi- 
ration of  service  June  16,  '65.      * 

Wells  B.  Mitchell,  age  23,  Second  Lieutenant,  Oct.  18,  '64; 
First  Lieutenant  Nov.  25,  '64;  expiration  of  service  in  June,  '65> 
as  Second  Lieutenant. 

Thirty-seventh     Regiment    Infantry — Mustered    in    for    three. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  107 

years;  total  of  1,483  men;  110  killed  in  action,  138  died  of  wounds 
and  disease  : 

Jones  A.  Champney,  age  32,  First  Lieutenant,  Aug.  27,  '62; 
Captain  May  15,  '64;  expiration  of  service  June  21,  '66,  as  Brevet 
Major. 

William  H.  Cousins,  age  27,  Lieutenant,  Mav  22,  '64;  discharged 
Nov.  26,  '64. 

John  C.  Kobinson,  age  25,  First  Lieutenant,  Aug.  27,  '62;  Cap- 
tain Dec.  24,  '63;  discharged  May  15,  '65,  as  Brevet  Major. 

Forty -ninth  Eegirnent  Infaiitry — Mustered  in  for  nine  months  ; 
total  of  966  men ;  21  killed  in  service,  84  died  of  wounds  or 
disease.  This  regiment  was  raised  entirely  in  the  county,  there 
being  only  three  of  its  members  from  other  counties.  Adams  con-. 
tributed  74  men  to  this  regiment.  The  old  Forty-ninth  upheld 
well  the  credit  of  Berkshire  county  and  the  old  Bay  State  on  many 
a  sanguinary  field,  among  which  is  mentioned,  with  commendable 
pride,  that  of  May  27,  1863,  when,  with  her  233  men  who  volun- 
teered to  lead  the  forlorn  hope  and  storm  the  outposts  of  Port 
Hudson,  in  less  than  three-quarters  of  an  hour  80  fell,  killed  or 
wounded. 

Sanford  E.  Gleason,  age  23,  Second  Lieutenant,  Company  K.,. 
April  15,  '63;  discharged  at  expiration  of  service. 

Henry  M.  Lyons,  age  23,  Second  Lieutenant,  Company  G., 
Sept.  21,  '62;  discharged  at  expiration  of  service. 

Francis  W.  Parker,  age  27.  Captain,  Company  G.,  Sept.  21,  '62- 
discharged  at  expiration  of  service. 

Sixty-first  Regiinent  Infantry — Mustered  in  for  one  year  ;  total 
of  1,013  men  ;  5  killed  in  action,  17  died  of  wounds  or  disease: 

Simeon  N.  Eldridge,  age  26,  Captain,  Sept.  22,  '64;  expiration 
of  service  June  4,  '65. 

William  W.  Montgomery,  age  21,  private,  Sept.  14,  '64;  Second 
Lieutenant  March  15,  '65;  expiration  of  service  June  4,  '65. 

NORTH   ADAMS    FIRE    DISTRICT. 

The  work  in  this  department  began  in  the  spring  of  1867,  and 
was  so  far  fiinshed  as  to  let  the  water  into  the  street  pipes  in  the 
fall  of  that  year. 

For  some  time  previous  to  this  date  the  matter  had  been  under 
consideration,  the  fathers  of  the  town  urging  it  at  town  meetings, 
and  in  private  conversation  with  voters.  They  saw  that  the  town 
must  ultimately  have  works  of  the  kind,  and  that  the  town  was  in 
as  good  shape  to  stand  the  expense  then  as  it  would  ever  be.     A 


iOS  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

-contract  was  made  with  the  North  Adams  Water  Company,  which 
was  formed  merely  for  construction  work,  to  build  the  Water 
Works,  the  town  agreeing  to  pay  the  Water  Company  the  entire 
•cost  of  constructing  the  same. 

The  company  employed  Edwin  Thayer  to  superintend  the  build- 
ing of  reservoirs  and  laying  the  pipes.  Mr.  Thayer  furnished  the 
first  money  to  the  concern,  taking  in  return  for  same  1500  in  town 
bonds  at  par. 

Shepard  Thayer  was  made  treasurer  of  the  Water  Company,  and, 
finding  the  treasury  empty,  immediately  went  to  work  raising 
funds  for  the  immediate  necessities.  That  he  found  his  office  no 
bed  of  roses  is  assured  from  the  fact  that  his  account  as  treasurer 
:amounted  to  $140,000,  including  his  loan  and  rolling  account. 

According  to  the  books  and  vouchers  of  the  AVater  Company,  it 
paid  $87,073.37  for  construction  np  to  the  time  the  works  were 
•accepted  by  the  Fire  District,  which  occurred  on  the  1st  of  April, 
1869,  John  F.  Arnold,  A.  P.  Butler  and  A.  W.  Preston  being  a 
^committee  to  audit  their  books  and  report  to  the  district. 

The  first  financial  report  of  the  Fire  District,  made  April  28, 
1869,  showed  the  following: 

Total  expenses  to  date $96,899  24 

Total  available  assets 2,898  78 

Balance  of  indebtedness $94,000  46 

The  water  is  taken  from  a  spring  brook  flowing  from  the  side  of 
"Greylock  mountain,  at  a  distance  of  two  and  one-half  miles  from 
the  village,  giving  a  fall  of  650  feet  from  the  dam  in  the  Notch  to 
Main  street.  This  fall  is  divided  into  three  parts — from  the  dam 
to  the  upper  reservoir,  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  reservoir,  and 
from  there  into  and  through  the  streets. 

The  lower  reservoir,  located  on  the  hillside  at  an  altitude  of  230 
feet  above  Main  street,  at  a  distance  of  one-half  mile  therefrom, 
^ives  a  force  of  pressure  on  the  pipes  of  115  pounds  to  the  square 
inch  at  the  Berkshire  House  on  Main  street. 

The  upper  reservoir,  situated  on  a  plateau  of  land  some  sixty 
Tods  above  the  lower  reservoir,  gives  a  fall  of  240  feet  into  the  lower 
'reservoir. 

The  fall  from  the  dam  to  the  upper  reservoir  is  180  feet  in  a  dis- 
tance of  600. 

0.  Wells  &  Son  brought  a  suit  against  the  district  for  diverting 
the  water  of  the  Notch  brook  from  their  several  mill  sites.  The 
'district  paid  them  $-^,170.97,  which,  with  the  costs,  amounted  to 
42,581.97. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  109« 

During  the  first  year  or  two  considerable  trouble  was  experienced 
by  the  freezing  of  the  pipes,  and  especially  the  hydrants,  which 
were  made  for  the  Southern  trade,  and  practically  useless  during 
our  rigorous  winter  months.  From  the  first  year  in  the  history  of 
the  Fire  District  until  the  present  time  the  water  rents  have  con- 
stantly increased  in  amount.  In  1883  the  town  had  increased  so 
much  in  population  that  during  the  dry  months  of  the  year  there- 
was  a  great  scarcity  of  water.  All  sorts  of  plans  were  talked  over 
in  order  to  meet  the  immediate  demands  of  the  district.  It  was 
finally  decided  to  supply  the  town  from  artesian  wells.  These  were- 
begun  in  the  summer  of  1884,  two  wells  being  sunk  at  a  cost  of 
about  $15,000,  which  included  land  damages  of  $8,000.  A  con- 
tract was  made  with  the  Knowles  Steam  Pump  Works  to  furnish 
house,  boiler  and  pumps  for  forcing  the  water  from  the  wells  into 
the  reservoirs.  The  contract  was  finished  and  the  pumps  used  first 
in  the  summer  of  1885. 

THE   KORTH   ADAMS   GAS   LIGHT   COMPANY. 

In  the  winter  of  1863,  a  charter  was  issued  by  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  incorporating  the  North  Adams  Gas  Light  company,, 
with  a  capital  stock  of  $50,000.  John  B.  Tyler,  S.  Johnson  and. 
A.  W.  Richardson  were  the  incorporators.  A  contract  was  made 
with  the  Providence  Steam  and  Gas  Fitting  company  to  lay  all  the 
pipes  then  needed  and  furnish  the  retorts,  the  incorporators  fur- 
nishing buildings. 

April  2d  1864,  the  company  was  formed  with  officers  as  follows:. 
Directors,  A.  W.  Richardson,  John  B.  Tyler,  S.  Johnson,  S.  W. 
Brayton  and  W.  S.  Blackinton.  John  li.  Tyler  was  elected  first 
president,  W.  W.  Freeuian  treasurer  and  H.  Clay  Bliss  clerk. 
The  price  of  gas  per  thousand  feet  was  $5.00.  A.  W.  Richardsou 
was  elected  president  in  1866,at  the  same  time  the  office  of  clerk 
and  treasurer  was  made  one,and  H.  Clay  Bliss  re-elected.  S.  John- 
son was  president  from  1867  to  1873;  John  B.  Tyler  from  1873  to 
1878;  A.  W.  Richardson  from  1878  to  1884;  W.  L.  Brown  waselec^ 
ted  in  1884.  In  1878  Frank  S.  Richardson  succeeded  Mr.  Bliss  as 
clerk  and  treasurer,  and  in  1884  this  office  was  divided  and  Arthur 
D.  Cady  elected  clerk,  Mr.  Richardson  still  continuing  the  treas^ 
urship.  The  price  of  gas  has  been  reduced  from  $5.00  to  $2.15 
per  thousand  feet.  The  plant  has  cost  to  the  present  day  about 
$150,000. 

BOSTON,    HOOSAC   TUNNEL   &    WESTERN    RAILROAD. 

In  the  winter  of  1878  this  railway  company  was  organized,  con- 
'sisting  of  a  few  Boston  capitalists,  with  General  William  Burt  at 


110  HISTOBY   OF    KOEOH   ADAMS. 

the  head,  and  to  him  is  due  the  energy  and  push  which  surmounted 
♦all  opposition  and  procured  the  necessary  legislation.  In  carrying 
*out  his  project  Mr.  Burt  was  opposed  hy  the  Troy  &  Boston  and 
-New  York  Central  Eailway  Companies.  The  courts  were  appealed 
to  in  New  York,  and  the  aid  of  the  Legislature  invoked.  The 
'Troy  &  Boston  Company  tried  the  same  tactics  in  Massachusetts, 
l)ut  the  victory  was  final  with  the  new  road,  which  was  formally 
•opened  on  Monday,  the  21st  of  December,  1879. 

SKETCH   OF     HOOSAC   TUNNEL. 

About  1820,  the  possibility  of  building  a  canal  from  Boston  to 
-Albany  was  presented  to  the  legislature,  which  was  more  seriously 
^entertained  after  the  completion  of  the  Erie  canal  in  1823.  In 
1855  three  commissioners  and  an  engineer  were  appointed,  to  as- 
Kjertain  if  it  was  practicable.  Several  routes  were  tested,  though 
their  report  in  1826,  favored  one  across  the  northern  part  of  Wor- 
Kjester  county,  up  the  Deerfield  river,  through  the  Hoosac  moun- 
tain, and,  by  the  valley  of  the  Hoosac  river,  to  the  Hudson  near 
'Troy.  About  this  time,  railroads  began  to  attract  attention,  and 
'their  superiority  was  immediately  recognized,  and  the  project  of  a 
Kjanal  abandoned.  In  1840,  the  Troy  &  Greenfield  railroad  com- 
pany was  chartered.  The  company  proposed  to  build  a  road  to 
iand  through  the  mountain,  thence  to  Williamstown,  there  to  con_ 
nect  with  any  road  leading  to,  or  near  the  city  of  Troy.  The 
length  of  the  road  from  Greenfield,  was  45  miles.  The  estimated 
K3ost  of  which,  including  the  tunnel  would  be  $80,000  per  mile.  It 
is  hardly  necessary  to  give  a  history  of  the  tunnel  here,  as  excellent 
•accounts  of  this  stupendous  feat  of  engineering  have  already  been 
produced.  A  few  facts  will  suffice.  Ground  was  first  broken  for 
the  tunnel  in  the  spring  of  1850.  Two  shafts  were  sunk,  called 
the  West  and  Central  shafts.  The  latter  was  sunk  a  distance  of 
1,028  feet,  requiring  four  years  of  continuous  labor,  and  an  ex_ 
penditure  of  not  less  than  half  a  million  dollars.  This  gave  the 
workmen,  six  working  points.  The  first  passage  of  cars,  occurred 
•on  February  9th  1875,  after  25  years  of  labor,  during  a  portion  of 
which  time  upwards  of  a  thousand  men  were  employed,  and  the 
^ork  pushed  night  and  day.  The  first  freight  train  passed 
^through  on  the  5th  of  April,  and  consisted  of  22  cars  from  the 
'west,  loaded  with  grain.  Passenger  trains  began  to  run  from  Bos- 
ton to  Troy  in  October  of  the  same  year,  though  the  tunnel  was 
not  officially  declared  to  be  ready  for  business  until  July  1st  1876^ 
In  round  numbers  the  tunnel  is  25,031  feet  in  length,  20  feet  high^ 
425  feet  in  width.     From   it  was  excavated  1,900,000  tons  of  rock, 


HISTORY   OF    NOETH    ADAMS.  Ill 

while  it  has  7,573  feet  of  brick  arching,  in  which  are  20,000,000 
bricks.  Its  entire  costs  was  $14,000,000  and  195  human  lives. 
The  Pittsfield  &  North  Adams  railroad  company  was  orignally  in- 
corporated in  1843.  Nothing  was  done  under  this  chartar  however, 
so  it  expired  and  was  renewed  in  1846.  During  that  year  the  road 
was  commenced  and  compleated,  at  an  expense  of  $450,000,  the 
last  rail  being  laid  at  11  o'clock,  October]6th  1846. 

BANKS   AND   OTHEll    INSTITUTIONS. 

The  Adams  National  Bank  of  North  Adams  was  organized  in 
1832,  Avith  Caleb  B.  Turner  as  president;  William  E.  Brayton  as 
oashier;  and  Caleb  B.  Turner,  Josiah  Q.  Robinson,  Nathan  Drury, 
David  Anthony,  Sanford  Blackinton,  Edward  Richmond,  Isaiah 
U.  Hoxie,  Samuel  Bowen  and  James  Wilbur,  directors.  The  presi- 
dents since  Mr.  Turner,  have  been  Nathan  Drury,  Daniel  Smith, 
Duty  S.  Tyler,  W.  E.  Brayton  and  Sanford  Blackinton,  who  held 
the  office  at  his  death,  on  the  24th  day  of  July  1885.  September 
14th  Shubael  Brayton,  the  vice-  president  was  elected  to  the  office. 
The  cashier  is  Edward  S.  Wilkinson.  The  original  capital  was 
f  100,000,  which  upon  the  reorganization  of  the  bank  under  the 
national  law,  in  1865,  was  increased  to^  $350,000  and  has  since 
been  increased  to  $500,000. 

The  Berkshire  National  Bank  was  organized  in  1878,  with  Jar- 
Yis  Rockwell,  president;  A.  W.  Hodge,  vice-president;  J.  Rock- 
well, A.  W.  Hodge,  James  Hunter,  A.  D.  Cady,  W.  H.  Gaylord, 
•S.  W.  Ingalls,  Joseph  White,  James  Chalmers  and  J.  R.  Hough- 
ton, directors;  C.  H.  Ingalls  cashier.  About  the  first  of  the  year 
of  1885,  Mr.  Ingalls  was  obliged  to  resign  the  cashiership,  because 
•of  failing  health,  and  A.  D.  Cady  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 
Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Rockwell,  on  the  14th  of  May  1885,  the 
•office  of  president  was  made  vacant,  and  in  June  of  the  same  year, 
James  Hunter  was  elected  to  the  office.  The  original  capital  of 
the  institution  was  $100,000,  which  has  since  been  increased  to 
$200,000. 

The  North  Adams  Savings  Bank,  was  incorporated  in  1848,  with 
William  Brayton  treasurer,  who  continued  to  1858,  when  E.  D. 
Whitaker  was  appointed.  The  bank  has  been  very  successful  in  all 
its  ventures,  and  to-day  stands  at  the  head  of  the  list  as  a  solid, 
•careful  and  well  managed  institution.  The  present  treasurer  is  V. 
A.  Whitaker,  who  succeeded  his  father  in  the  office  in  1873. 

The  Hoosac  Savings  Bank  was  organized  in  1871  with  Austin 
Bond  as  treasurer.     The  present  treasurer  is  W.  W.  Butler. 


112  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

KORTH   ADAMS    HOSPITAL. 

On  the  21st  of  October,  1882,  an  accident  occurred  in  the  local 
freight  yard,  whereby  35  workmen  in  the  tunnel  were  killed,  or  in- 
jured severely.  The  want  of  a  suitable  place  to  care  for  the  in- 
jured was  severely  felt.  That  same  day  Messrs  W.  L.  Brown  and 
W.  S.  Johnson  headed,  and  circulated  a  subscription  paper  for  the 
purpose  of  erecting  a  hospital  in  the  village.  The  result  T)f  their 
labor  is  the  present  building  on  the  sightly  eminence  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  town.  The  property  comprises  the  building  and 
30  acres  of  land  surrounding  it,  which  represents  an  expenditure 
of  $19,900.  Of  this  amount  $11,378  was  raised  by  subscription 
$295  for  the  rent  of  land  for  two  years  previous  to  the  completion 
of  the  building,  $127  from  an  entertainment  given  by  Prof.  David 
Koberts,  and  a  loan  of  $7500  from  the  savings  bank.  This  left  a 
deficit  of  $600  to  be  raised  when  the  building  was  opened.  The^ 
building  was  formally  turned  over  to  the  board  of  control,  by  the. 
building  committee,  on  March  2d  1885  and  the  building  declared 
to  be  ready  to  receive  patients.  Experienced  nurses  were  engaged 
from  New  York,  and  all  the  arrangements  were  of  the  most  com- 
plete character.  The  opening  day  it  was  estimated  that  fully 
fifteen  hundred  persons  visited  the  building,  where  appropriate  ex- 
ercises were  conducted,  by  the  local  clergymen.  Following  is  the 
list  of  the  first  officers. 

President— Mrs.  Mary  Williams. 

Vice-presidents— Mrs.  Helen  A.  Archer,  Mrs.  Anna  W.  Bichmond,  Mrs. 
Harriet  E.  Gallup. 

Treasurer — Mrs.  Isabell  S.  Millard. 

Assistant  Treasurer— Mrs.  Ella  E.  Hunter. 

Secretary — Mrs.  Augustus  P.  Foster. 

Assistant  Secretary— Mrs.  Louise  B.  Tyler. 

Directors— Mrs.  Delia  Boland,  Mrs.  CeUa  Armstrong,  Bridget  O'Brien^ 
Mrs.  Ellen  S.  Hodge,  Mrs.  Sarah  C.  Read,  Mrs.  Fannie  P.  Brown,  Mrs.  Fan- 
nie J.  Tinker,  Mrs.  Jane  E.  Lawrence,  Mrs.  EUzabeth  D.  Thayer,  Mrs.  Fran- 
ces E.  Swift,  Mrs.  Juha  Sampson,  Mrs.  Harriet  A.  Thayer,  Mrs.  Frances  M. 
Brayton,  Ruth  E.  Millard,  Mrs.  DeHa  J.  Houghton,  Mrs.  Carolyn  B.  Wright. 

Clerk— Mrs.  Hattie  Ballou  Cady. 

While  the  hospital  was  being  agitated  and  before  its  completion, 
the  question  was  repeatedly  asked,  '*what  are  we  going  to  do  with 
it?"  Such  good  work  has  been  done  at  the  institution,  that  now, 
less  than  four  months  after  the  opening  day,  the  question  is  asked, 
''how  have  we  ever  done  without  it?"  Such  demonstrates  the 
change   of  public  sentiment. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

The  first  newspaper  printed  in  North  Adams  was  called   the 


HISTORY   OP   NOETH    ADAMS.  113 

Berkshire  Americaii.  It  was  a  weekly  paper,  neutral,  and  edited 
by  Dr.  Asa  Green,  who  issued  the  first  number  early  in  the  winter 
of  1820  or  '27.  The  enterprise  was  not  a  success,  and  after  a  sickly 
struggle  of  two  years  died  a  natural  death.  At  the  same  time  a 
paper  called  the  Socialist  was  also  published,  being  merely  the 
matter  of  the  Berkshire  American  reprinted  on  a  smaller  sheet 
without  the  advertisements.  About  a  year  after  the  paper  had 
ceased  its  issue,  Atwell  &  Turner  were  induced  to  take  hold  of  it, 
and  began  the  publication  in  1830.  With  the  same  old  Rampage 
press,  but  with  some  additions  to  the  type,  they  issued  a  very  re- 
spectable sheet  for  those  days,  and  served  some  500  subscribers  for 
two  years.  Herman  Atwell  was  the  editor.  William  Mitchell 
next  purchased  the  press,  type  and  furniture,  publishing  what  was 
called  the  Adams  Gazette  and  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Magazine. 
This  was  a  neutral  paper,  and  lasted  about  one  and  one-half  years 
with  450  subscribers. 

In  1833  A.  H.  Wells  appeared  in  the  field,  and,  with  the  aid  of 
some  enterprising  citizens,  a  new  press  and  modern  styles  of  type 
were  added  to  the  old  concern,  and  a  paper  appeared  advocat- 
ing Whig  doctrines,  under  the  head  of  the  Berkshire  Ad- 
vocate.    It  had  400  subscribers,  and  lived  about  one  year. 

William  M.  Mitchell  again  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  and 
brought  out  the  Greylock  Mirror,  with  400  subscribers,  which  was 
published  about  six  months.  For  several  years  after  this  none 
could  be  found  bold  enough  to  undertake  the  revival  of  a  press 
here,  the  want  of  which  was  sadly  felt  by  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity. 

The  North  Adams  Transcript — This  paper  was  established  as  a 
Whig  journal,  under  the  title  of  the  Adams  Tratiscrijjt,  Septem- 
ber 7,  1843,  by  John  R.  Briggs,  with  600  subscribers.  In  April, 
1844,  Mr.  Briggs  associated  with  him  Henry  Chickering,and  in  the 
following  year  retired  from  the  firm.  Later,  Messrs.  Burton  & 
Winton  purchased  the  paper,  merging  it  into  the  Free  American. 
They  in  turn  disposed  of  the  concern  to  William  S.  George,  and  it 
then  became  the  property  of  William  H.  Phillips,  who  united  it 
with  the  Hoosac  Valley  JVetos,  and  took  into  partnership  Francis 
S.  Parker.  Parker  subsequently  withdrew,  and  in  1860  Phillips 
said  to  Hon.  James  T.  Robinson,  who,  in  company  with  his  son 
Arthur,  still  conducts  the  paper.  When  the  News  was  united 
with  the  Transcript  the  title  was  changed  to  the  Transcript  and 
News,  and  soon  after  Mr.  Robinson  took  the  paper  the  name  was 
changed  to  the  A  dams  Tra^iscript,  which  was  retained  until  the 
division  of  the  town,  when  the  title  was  again  changed  to   The 


114  HISTORY    OF   XORTH    ADAMS. 

North  Adwms  Transcriptf  which  title  it  now  bears.  It  is  a  large 
ten-column  paper,  published  every  Wednesday. 

February  15,  1851,  the  Greyloclc  Seyitinel  was  started  as  a  Free 
Soiler,  with  A.  J.  Aiken  as  editor.  In  February,  1852,  Mr.  Aiken 
retired,  and  his  chair  was  filled  by  A.  D.  Brock.  The  Sentinel 
had  a  circulation  of  650,  and  in  the  autumn  of  1852  was  changed 
to  the  Free  American.  In  1853  it  was  sold  to  Burton  &  Winton, 
who  subsequently  united  it  with  the  Transcript. 

The  Hoosac  Valley  Netvs  was  originally  established  by  Clark  & 
Phillips,  in  1857,  Mr.  Phillips  subsequently  becoming  sole 
owner,  who  united  it  with  the  Transcript,  as  above  stated. 
In  January,  1867,  Mr.  Phillips,  in  company  with  John  Mande- 
ville,  re-established  the  Neios.  Mr.  Phillips  soon  sold  his  interest 
to  James  C.  Angell,  the  firm  becoming  Angell  &  Mandeville^ 
which  firm  was  continued  three  or  four  years,  when  James  L. 
Bowen  purchased  Mandeville's  interest,  and  about  a  year  after 
this  Angell  became  sole  proprietor.  In  1877  his  son,  E.  D. 
Angell,  became  publisher,  the  father  still  acting  as  editor.  July 
1,  1879,  Charles  T.  Evans,  became  a  partner.  October  1st,  1882, 
the  office  was  leased  to  H.  T.  &  W.  J.  Oatman,  who  failed  in  a 
little  less  than  one  year,  and  the  office  was  than  run  by  Mr.  Hard- 
man,  Mr.  AngelFs  son-in-  law.  October  1st,  1884,  E.  A.  McMillin 
purchased  an  interest,  and  the  paper  is  now  conducted  with  Hard- 
man  &  McMillin  as  editors  and  proprietors.  The  News  is  a 
bright,  lively  and  reliable  eight-page  paper  of  fifty-six  columns, 
being  enlarged  in  October  of  the  present  year,  from  a  nine  column 
to  four  page  paper. 

NORTH   ADAMS   LIBRARY   ASSOCIATIOK. 

At  a  very  early  day  in  the  history  of  the  town,  the  need  of  librar- 
ies of  some  kind,  became  very  apparent.  Ezra  D.  Whitaker  in 
1830  kept  a  circulating  library  in  his  store,  in  the  building  now  oc. 
cupied  by  L.  Childs.  This  library  he  continued  for  a  good  many 
years.  In  1844  Edwin  Rogers  had  a  circulating  library  of  some  800 
volumes  in  his  store  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Eagle  streets. 
About  1856  Edward  Spaulding,  then  superintendent  for  Ingalls 
&  Tyler,  was  the  means  of  starting  a  library,  which  was  placed  in 
the  store  connected  with  that  mill.  In  1859  Frank  Shephard, 
Frank  Stever  and  Charles  H.  Williams,  began  agitating  the  ques- 
tion of  a  public  library.  Their  efforts  were  finally  crowned  with 
success  for  in  the  next  year  the  North  Adams  Library  Association 
was  formed.  The  first  meeting  was  held  in  the  stone  office,  corner 
of  Main  and  Bank  streets,   then  occupied  by  Dawes  &   Porter. 


HISTORY   OF   NORTH    ADAMS.  115 

Charles  H.  Williams,  then  a  student  in  the  office,  was  elected  the 
first  president,  Frank  Shephard  first  librarian  and  A.  G.  Potter^ 
first  clerk  of  the  association.  The  library  was  placed  in  a  room 
in  Thayer's  block,  which  was  the  same  building  as  the  Adams 
house  described  in  these  sketches.  The  first  object  of  the  associa- 
tion was  to  form  a  reading  room  in  connection  with  the  library,  but 
this  idea  was  given  up  after  a  time.  When  this  building  was 
burned  on  the  9th  of  February,  1867,  the  books  of  the  library 
were  all  saved  by  members  of  the  association.  A  room  was  imme- 
diately engaged  in  the  old  Burlingame  block,  and  Charles  D.  San- 
ford  became  librarian.  He  took  great  interest  in  the  work,  classi- 
fied and  arranged  the  books,  and  issued  the  first  catalogue.  The 
organization  became  very  prosperous,  having  at  one  time  several 
hundred  members.  The  library  remained  here  until  about  1870, 
when  it  was  removed  to  a  room  in  Martins  block,  against  consid- 
erable opposition  from  the  older  members.  It  prospered  and 
flourished  here  until  about  1880,  when  the  membership  began  to 
decrease,  and  during  1882  and  '83  the  decrease  was  quite  alarming. 
About  this  time  the  subject  of  a  free  public  library  and  reading 
room  was  talked  of,  and  during  the  winter  of  1883  and  '84  the 
present  quarters  were  engaged,  and  the  books  of  the  old  asso- 
ciation moved  in.  In  the  spring  of  1884  at  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  town,  the  library  was  accepted  by  the  town  as  a  gift  from  the 
association,  and  a  sum  appropriated  for  its  maintenance.  The 
wisdom  of  this  course  was  very  apparent  the  first  year,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  following  facts  taken  from  the  report  of  the  manager 
at  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  the  maintenance  of  the  free  public 
library  in  town.  The  number  of  persons  registered  as  takers  of 
books  up  to  the  first  of  March  1885,  was  2629.  The  number  of 
books'  drawn  during  the  year,  as  shown  by  the  records  of  the 
librarian  was  42,562;  an  average  of  3547  per  month,  or  136  per  day, 
allowing  26  days  to  the  month.  At  this  time  there  were  but  4000 
volumes  belonging  to  the  circulating  department,  and  the  above 
figures  would  indicate  that  books  equal  in  number  to  the  whole 
number  of  volumes  admitted  to  circulation,  were  drawn  once 
in  each  month  of  the  year.  This  fact  is  of  importance,  not  only 
in  showing  the  demand  on  the  library,  but  as  disclosing  also,  to. 
some  extent,  the  labor,  the  constant  care  and  watchfulness  of  the 
librarians,  in  keeping  proper  records  of  the  books  drawn  and  re- 
turned, and  in  seeing  that  none  were  lost  or  destroyed.  The  li- 
brarians, who  have  had  charge  of  the  books  at  different  times  as  near 
as  can  be  ascertained,  are  Frank  Shephard,  Charles  Sanford,  E.  S, 
Wilkinson,  A.  B.  Wright,    S.  11.    Fairfield,  E.  A.   Wright,  E.  D. 


116  HISTORY   OF    NORTH   ADAMS. 

Tyler,  Arthur  Witherell.  All  these  before  the  library  became  free 
after  this  Miss  Augusta  0.  Dunton  was  placed  in  charge  and  still 
continues.  On  the  first  of  March  1885,  the  library  contained  4750 
yolumes,  of  which  4129  were  for  circulation  and  G21  for  reference- 
Of  these  988  were  purchased  from  the  receipts  of  a  fair  for  the  bene" 
fit  of  the  library  and  787  were  purchased  with  money  appropriated 
by  the  town.  During  the  first  year  were  some  donations  of  books 
— one  of  special  value  by  William  L.  Brown,  comprised  77  bound 
volumes  of  the  ^^ London  Illustrated  News,"  and  133  volumes  of 
the  ^'London  Quarterly  Revieio." 

The  benefit  of  a  reading  room,  so  far  as  they  go  are  essentially 
the  same  as  those  of  a  library.  As  now  conducted,  the  reading 
room  is  a  source  of  little  expense  aside  from  the  cost  of  reading 
matter  and  lights.  It  has  been  orderly,  well  kept,  frequented  by 
large  numbers  of  people  in  the  day  time  and  evening,  and  furnishes 
a  kind  and  variety  of  reading  not  easily  obtained  elsewhere.  That 
the  library  and  reading  room  are  held  in  high  esteem  by  the  voters 
of  the  town  is  evinced  from  the  fact  that  at  the  town  meeting  in 
1885,  !5^3000  was  appropriated  for  its  maintenance. 


-iff 


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